Set Distribution for Tables on Azure Synapse Analytics

For tables in a Prepare instance deployed on Azure Synapse Analytics, additional settings are available on the Performance tab in Table Settings. The Distribution option controls how data in the table is distributed among the 60 distributions and compute nodes on the server.

The following distribution options are available:

• Round-robin (default): Rows are distributed evenly across all distributions.
• Replicate: A full copy of the table's data is stored on every compute node.
• Hash: Rows are distributed using a hash function applied to the values in a designated distribution column. The default distribution column is the system field DW_id.

Set the distribution type for a table

Right-click the table and select Table Settings > Performance tab. Under Distribution, select the distribution type to use.

Set the distribution column for a table

Right-click a field in the table and select Distribution Column.