134 CHAPTER 7 Range Partitioning
range. Once again we see this situation become murkier when global indexes are intro-
duced, since keys in the global index can’t easily be dropped in a single operation. Some
databases solve the handling of global indexes for roll-out by removing the keys for the
deleted ranges asynchronously (i.e., perhaps minutes or hours after the range has other-
wise been deleted). Metadata is stored regarding the index to ensure that index-only
access to the deleted ranges will not access the keys pending deletion.
7.5 Increased Addressability
There are two major reasons why range partitioning is valuable as an addressability aid.
Using a classic 4-byte RID
2
, with row addressability defined by page number and record
(or slot) ...