SQL Batched Delete

Question

I have a table in SQL Server 2005 which has approx 4 billion rows in it. I need to delete approximately 2 billion of these rows. If I try and do it in a single transaction, th

Answer 1

I would do something similar to the temp table suggestions but I'd select into a new permanent table the rows you want to keep, drop the original table and then rename the new one. This should have a relatively low tran log impact. Obviously remember to recreate any indexes that are required on the new table after you've renamed it.

Just my two p'enneth.