What Is Sharding?
Sharding, a database architecture pattern, involves partitioning a database into smaller, faster, more manageable parts called shards. Each shard is a distinct database, and collectively, these shards make up the entire database. Sharding is particularly useful for managing large-scale databases, offering significant improvements in performance, maintainability, and scalability.
Key Characteristics
Data Distribution: Shards can be distributed across multiple servers, reducing the load on any single server and improving response times.