Hi All,
Although this isn't a likely setup I would encounter/recommend, this question has been driving me nuts because I can't find the answer and I'm not sure how to test it on my own (lack of hardware/knowledge).
I encountered a document on SQL Server 2012, and 2008R2, that states:
When SQL Server performs data sorting for I/O operations, it sorts the data first by partition. SQL Server accesses one drive at a time, and this might reduce performance. To improve data sorting performance, stripe the data files of your partitions across more than one disk by setting up a RAID. In this way, although SQL Server still sorts data by partition, it can access all the drives of each partition at the same time.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190787.aspx
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I'm curious if Oracle has the same 'limitation.' I see in the 10.2 docs that they say:
Although you are not required to keep each table or index partition (or subpartition) in a separate tablespace, it is to your advantage to do so. Storing partitions in separate tablespaces enables you to:
* Reduce the possibility of data corruption in multiple partitions
* Back up and recover each partition independently
* Control the mapping of partitions to disk drives (important for balancing I/O load)
* Improve manageability, availability, and performance
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14231/partiti.htm
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But this does not specifically say it can access more than one drive at a time. I can't tell whether this applies to Oracle or not. Sorry for the reference to a previous version but I looked for this statement in the 11.2 documentation but couldn't find it.
Can anyone shed some light on this? It's eating at me :)
Thanks,
Rich