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The ethical slacker

SQL Server Enterprise Edition. Not all indexes can be re-built online.

When designing your application schema you need to spend some time planning for operations. You may plan to rely on the Enterprise Edition of SQL Server to bring you online index rebuilding to ensure that index maintenance does not require downtime. The excerpt below from Microsoft SQL Server Books Online is important to remember because if you choose certain datatypes then online index rebuilds may not be available to you:

  • Clustered indexes must be created, rebuilt, or dropped offline when the underlying table contains large object (LOB) data types: image, ntext, text, varchar(max), nvarchar(max), varbinary(max), and xml.
  • Nonunique nonclustered indexes can be created online when the table contains LOB data types but none of these columns are used in the index definition as either key or nonkey (included) columns. Nonclustered indexes defined with LOB data type columns must be created or rebuilt offline.
  • Indexes on local temp tables cannot be created, rebuilt, or dropped online. This restriction does not apply to indexes on global temp tables.
  • http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190981.aspx

    Just a warning, in case you are planning for a very high availability solution.

    Published 08 August 2008 17:25 by James.Saull
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