Sharding

Sharding is a type of database partitioning that separates very large databases into smaller, faster, more easily managed parts called data shards. The word shard means a small part of a whole. Each shard is held on a separate database server instance, to spread load and reduce the risk of a single point of failure. Sharding can be done on a horizontal or vertical basis. Horizontal Sharding, also known as data sharding, involves putting different rows onto different tables. Vertical Sharding, on the other hand, involves putting different columns onto different tables. It's possible to shard on the basis of certain columns, and databases can be sharded in many different ways. Sharding is a complex process, but proper planning can allow for increased scalability and performance improvements.