Iceberg tables degrade through small files, orphan files, metadata bloat, sort order decay, and partition skew. Here is how to diagnose each problem.
Distributed joins move data across the network using shuffle, broadcast, or co-location strategies. Here is how each works and when engines choose which.
S3 Tables and MinIO AI Stor embed the Iceberg catalog directly in the storage layer. Here is when embedded catalogs make sense and when they do not.
Hash partitioning distributes data evenly. Range partitioning enables fast range scans. Both create tradeoffs.
