Partitions and Data Distribution

Question 1

Partition

Answer 1

A partition is an allocation of storage for a table, backed by solid state drives (SSDs) and automatically replicated across multiple Availability Zones within an AWS Region.

Question 2

Data Distribution: Partition Key

Answer 2

DynamoDB uses the value of the partition key as input to an internal hash function. The output value from the hash function determines the partition in which the item will be stored.

Question 3

Data Distribution: Partition Key and Sort Key

Answer 3

DynamoDB calculates the hash value of the partition key in the same way as described in Data Distribution: Partition Key. However, it stores all the items with the same partition key value physically close together, ordered by sort key value.

Question 4

Data Distribution: Partition Key and Sort Key - READ

Answer 4

You can read multiple items from the table in a single operation (Query) if the items you want have the same partition key value. DynamoDB returns all of the items with that partition key value. Optionally, you can apply a condition to the sort key so that it returns only the items within a certain range of values.