SQL Server v.Next ("Denali") : How a columnstore index is not like a normal index
- by AaronBertrand
At the end of my Denali presentation at SQL Saturday #65 in Vancouver, a member of the audience asked, "What makes a columnstore index different from a regular nonclustered index?" At the end of a busy day, I was at a loss for an answer, and I'll explain why. First, I'll briefly explain the basic, core, high-level functionality of a columnstore index (you can read a lot more details in this white paper ). Basically, instead of storing index data together on a page, it divvies up the data from each...(read more)