Teradata Architecture for IT and Developers

by Tom Coffing and John Nolan

Coffing Data Warehousing. (c) 2013. Copying Prohibited.

Reprinted for Chaitanya Paruchuri, Accenture

chaitanya.paruchuri@accenture.com
Reprinted with permission as a subscription benefit of Skillport,
http://skillport.books24x7.com/
All rights reserved. Reproduction and/or distribution in whole or in part in electronic,paper or
other forms without written permission is prohibited.

Chapter 2: The Primary Index
Overview
"He who walks in another's tracks leaves no footprints."
- Joan L. Brannon
The Primary Index is defined when the table is CREATED

The Primary Index is defined when the table is CREATED. Above, we have a UPI which stands for a Unique Primary Index
(UPI).
A Unique Primary Index (UPI)
TeradataArchitectureforITandDevelopers
ReprintedforOET7P/994216,Accenture CoffingDataWarehousing,CoffingPublishing(c)2013,CopyingProhibited
Page 2 / 9

A Unique Primary Index (UPI) spreads the rows of a table evenly across the AMPs.
Primary Index in the WHERE Clause - Single-AMP Retrieve

Use the Primary Index column in your SQL WHERE clause and only 1-AMP retrieves.
Using EXPLAIN
Emp_No Dept_No First_Name Last_Name Salary

1005 400 Rob Rivers 50000
TeradataArchitectureforITandDevelopers
ReprintedforOET7P/994216,Accenture CoffingDataWarehousing,CoffingPublishing(c)2013,CopyingProhibited
Page 3 / 9

If you want to see the Parsing Engine's plan, all you have to do is type EXPLAIN in front of your SQL. You can also hit the
Function Key F6, or click on the magnifying glass on Nexus. Above, you can see that we are doing a single-AMP
RETRIEVE step by way of a Unique Primary Index (UPI).
A Non-Unique Primary Index (NUPI)

A Non-Unique Primary Index (NUPI) will have duplicates grouped together on the same AMP, so data will always be
skewed (uneven). The above skew is reasonable.
Primary Index in the WHERE Clause - Single-AMP Retrieve
TeradataArchitectureforITandDevelopers
ReprintedforOET7P/994216,Accenture CoffingDataWarehousing,CoffingPublishing(c)2013,CopyingProhibited
Page 4 / 9

Use the Primary Index column in your SQL WHERE clause and only 1-AMP retrieves.
Using EXPLAIN in a NUPI Query

If you want to see the Parsing Engine's plan, all you have to do is type EXPLAIN in front of your SQL. You can also hit the
Function Key F6 or click on the magnifying glass on Nexus. Above, you can see that we are doing a single-AMP
RETRIEVE step by way of a Primary Index (NUPI).
A conceptual example of a Multi-Column Primary Index
Emp_No Dept_No First_Name Last_Name Salary
1001 100 Rafael Minal 90000
1001 100 Mo Khan 60000
TeradataArchitectureforITandDevelopers
ReprintedforOET7P/994216,Accenture CoffingDataWarehousing,CoffingPublishing(c)2013,CopyingProhibited
Page 5 / 9

A table can have only one Primary Index, but you can combine up to 64 columns together max to form one Multi-Column
Primary Index.
Primary Index in the WHERE Clause - Single-AMP Retrieve

Use the Primary Index column in your SQL WHERE clause, and only 1-AMP retrieves.
A conceptual example of a Table with NO PRIMARY INDEX
Emp_No Dept_No First_Name Last_Name Salary
1005 400 Rob Rivers 50000
TeradataArchitectureforITandDevelopers
ReprintedforOET7P/994216,Accenture CoffingDataWarehousing,CoffingPublishing(c)2013,CopyingProhibited
Page 6 / 9

A Table that specifically states NO PRIMARY INDEX will receive no primary index. It will distribute the data evenly but
randomly, and this is often used as a staging table.
A Full Table Scan is likely on a table with NO Primary Index

A Full Table Scan was performed
Since a NO Primary Index (NoPI) table has no primary index, the system retrieves by performing a Full Table Scan which
means All-AMPs read All-Rows they own once.
An EXPLAIN that shows a Full Table Scan
Emp_No Dept_No First_Name Last_Name Salary
1003 300 Charl Kertzel 70000
TeradataArchitectureforITandDevelopers
ReprintedforOET7P/994216,Accenture CoffingDataWarehousing,CoffingPublishing(c)2013,CopyingProhibited
Page 7 / 9

If you want to see the Parsing Engine's plan, all you have to do is type EXPLAIN in front of your SQL. You can also hit the
Function Key F6 or click on the magnifying glass on Nexus. Above, you can see that we are doing an all-AMPs RETRIEVE
step from Emp_Intl by way of an all-rows scan. This means a Full Table Scan.
Table CREATE Examples with four different Primary Indexes

A table can have only one Primary Index so picking the right one is essential. Above, are four different examples for your
consideration.
What happens when you forget the Primary Index?
TeradataArchitectureforITandDevelopers
ReprintedforOET7P/994216,Accenture CoffingDataWarehousing,CoffingPublishing(c)2013,CopyingProhibited
Page 8 / 9

When you forget to define the Primary Index, Teradata will default to the first column in the table, and it will be defined as
Non-Unique. Clearly define what you want!
Why create a table with No Primary Index (NoPI)?

NoPI tables are designed to be staging tables. Data from a Mainframe or server can be loaded onto Teradata quickly with
perfect distribution. Then, an INSERT/SELECT can be done to move the data from the staging table (on Teradata) to the
production table (also on Teradata). The data can be transformed in staging, and there are no Load Restrictions with an
INSERT/SELECT. A NoPI table usually isn't queried, but can be!
TeradataArchitectureforITandDevelopers
ReprintedforOET7P/994216,Accenture CoffingDataWarehousing,CoffingPublishing(c)2013,CopyingProhibited
Page 9 / 9