How to Use Global Secondary Index Partitioning for More Than Partitions

Couchbase's Global Secondary Index (GSI) partitioning is a powerful feature that enhances querying capabilities by dividing large indexes across multiple nodes, ensuring improved query performance and scalability. GSI supports advanced scaling and predictable low-latency querying by allowing indexes to be independently partitioned, which provides flexibility in managing indexes according to specific query requirements. Partitioning is particularly beneficial in scenarios with heavy workloads, facilitating parallel scanning and efficient workload distribution across nodes. Index partitioning is versatile, being used creatively beyond its original purpose of scaling large indexes, such as in Command and Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS) for write-heavy applications. Choosing appropriate partition keys can minimize latency for range queries and optimize performance, while partition placement allows administrators to distribute partitions based on resource availability. The thoughtful application of index partitioning strategies can balance performance and cost-effectiveness, making it a valuable tool for various use cases.