Z ORDER-ing vs. Bucketing: Clearing the Confusion in Big Data Optimization

Many of us often confuse Bucketing and Z ORDER-ing, as both cluster data to improve performance in large-scale datasets. However, they serve different purposes:

• Bucketing hashes a column into fixed buckets (e.g., Customer ID into 32 buckets). During table joins, only matching buckets are joined, speeding up the process. The challenge? It can create many small files and directories.
• Z ORDER-ing, on the other hand, automatically clusters data and optimizes file sizes. It doesn’t require predefined bucket counts, and the Delta Log helps quickly locate relevant data during queries. The OPTIMIZE command in Delta Lake reduces small files and enhances query performance.

While both techniques help optimize joins, Z ORDER-ing provides greater flexibility and minimizes small files.

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