What is the minimum number of rows required to bulk insert into a columnstore index?

For bulk inserting into a columnstore index, the process requires a minimum of 102,400 rows. This threshold is critical because columnstore indexes are optimized for big data scenarios and analytics, making them more efficient when handling larger batches of data. When you perform bulk insert operations, they help create larger columns and enhanced query performance due to how data is compressed and stored.

Establishing this minimum requirement encourages efficient data loading, ultimately leading to better performance during query execution. The reasoning behind the specified minimum is to ensure that the internal processes involved in creating the columnstore data structure can optimize compression and organization, which would not be as effective with smaller row counts.

In regular use cases, inserting fewer rows than this could lead to inefficient use of the system's resources, resulting in suboptimal performance and possibly requiring additional overhead to manage smaller batches of data. This minimum row count also aligns with the architecture and intended use cases for columnstore indexes, which are designed to handle large volumes of data efficiently.