Physical Modeling › SQL Server Physical Property Editors › SQL Server Database Objects › SQL Server Partitions › Define SQL Server Partition Functions

Define SQL Server Partition Functions

A partition function is the function that specifies how a table or index is partitioned. Use the SQL Server Partition Function Editor to define the properties of the partition boundaries in a SQL Server 2005/2008 physical model.

To define SQL Server partition functions

1. Click Partition, Functions on the Database menu.

   The SQL Server Partition Function Editor opens.

2. Select the partition function in the Navigation Grid that you want to define and work with the following options:

   Note: Click New on the toolbar to create a new partition function.

   • Name

     Displays the partition function name. You can change the partition function name in this field.

   • Physical Data Type

     Specifies the data type of the column used for the partition. Select a data type from the drop-down list.

   • Collation

     Specifies the default collation for the database. Enter the collation value in the column. If collation is not specified, the default collation of SQL Server is assigned.

   • Generate

     Generates SQL during forward engineering. Clear the check box if you do not want to generate SQL.

3. Click the General tab and work with the following options:
   • Range Partition Boundary Side

     Specifies if the range partition boundary is from the left or the right. Select one of the options from the drop-down list.

   • Partition Values

     Defines the partition values for a partition function. The partition value is a user-defined value for each partition. Click New on the toolbar to define a new partition value or select one of the existing values and edit it.

4. (Optional) Click the Comment tab and enter any comments that you want to associate with the partition function.
5. (Optional) Click the UDP tab to work with user-defined properties for the partition function.
6. Click Close.

   The partition function is defined and the SQL Server Partition Function Editor closes.