Patent ID: 8260832

Claim:
A method for partitioning inter-linked documents into partitions of a database system, comprising: storing a plurality of documents in two or more partitions in the database system, thereby forming a number of inter-partition links between a first partition and a second partition, wherein both the first partition and the second partition are included in the two or more partitions, wherein first documents are stored in the first partition, wherein second documents are stored in the second partition, and wherein both the first documents and the second documents are included in the plurality of documents; wherein the two or more partitions in the database system are managed by a partitioning mechanism of the database system; determining whether storing one or more of the first documents in the second partition instead of the first partition reduces the number of inter-partition links between the first partition and the second partition; and in response to determining that storing the one or more of the first documents in the second partition instead of the first partition reduces the number of inter-partition links between the first partition and the second partition, moving the one or more of the first documents from being stored in the first partition to being stored in the second partition, wherein said one or more of the first documents being stored in the first partition requires storing content of said one or more of the first documents in the first partition, and wherein said one or more of the first documents being stored in the second partition requires storing content of the said one or more of the first documents in the second partition.