Partitioning with temporal tables

Applies to: SQL Server 2016 (13.x) and later Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance

You can use partitioning on both the current and the history table independently. However, partitioning cannot be used to change the content of the data without system-versioning.

Note

Partitioning is an Enterprise Edition feature in SQL Server 2016 prior to Service Pack 1 and earlier versions. Partitioning is supported in all editions in SQL Server 2016 Service Pack 1 and later versions.

• Current Table:

  • SWITCH IN to the current table can be used to facilitate data loading and querying while SYSTEM_VERSIONING is ON
  • SWITCH OUT is not permitted while SYSTEM_VERSIONING is ON

• History Table:

  • SWITCH OUT from history table can performed while SYSTEM_VERSIONING is ON to purge portions of history data that is no longer relevant.
  • SWITCH IN is not allowed while SYSTEM_VERSIONING is ON since it can invalidate temporal data consistency.

Next steps

• Temporal Tables
• Getting Started with System-Versioned Temporal Tables
• Temporal Table System Consistency Checks
• Temporal Table Considerations and Limitations
• Temporal Table Security
• Manage Retention of Historical Data in System-Versioned Temporal Tables
• System-Versioned Temporal Tables with Memory-Optimized Tables
• Temporal Table Metadata Views and Functions