could you tell me the pros and cons of Table partition
asked
Data Table Partitioning Pros and cons
The Partitioned Tables and Indexes topic on MSDN really does cover it, there's little point in repeating that here.
However, what it is worth saying is that usually partitioning applied in a generic form across a database will harm performance rather than enhance it, and in the situations where it does enhance it, the improvement is usually in terms of maintenance rather than transactional work. A specifically targeted partition scheme may improve performance, but it needs careful consideration and thorough understanding of the usage patterns involved.
Matt, what performance hits are introduced? Isn't partitioning designed to focus data access?
Have a read of this
http://blogs.mssqltips.com/blogs/chadboyd/archive/2008/03/19/partitioning-data-for-query-performance-where-s-the-benefit.aspx - that's a good example, though I've seen it in my own use where partitioning will work well for a small subset of queries, and harm performance on others. I have edited my answer though because it wasn't as clear as I would have liked.
It all depends on the use case. If you have a large dataset and the vast majority of your access is going to be filtered by the partitioning key, then partititioning can be useful, otherwise it is probably a net loss.
