Architecture Expert
Sharding Strategies¶
ShardingDatabaseScaling 3 min read
Horizontal data partitioning. Hash, range, consistent hashing.
Strategies¶
- Hash: shard = hash(key) % N — even distribution, but requires re-hash on changes
- Range: A-M to shard 1, N-Z to shard 2 — range queries, risk of hot spots
- Consistent Hashing: minimizes data movement
Challenges¶
- Cross-shard queries are expensive
- Rebalancing requires migration
- Bad shard key = hot spots
- ACID across shards is complex
Summary¶
Sharding is a last resort. First: optimize queries, indexes, read replicas, vertical scaling.
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