If you’re a SQL Server 2005 user, you’re probably thinking, “I can just use table partitioning instead of indexed views.” When you were trained on SQL Server 2005, the instructor probably told you to replace SQL Server 2000 partitioned views with SQL Server 2005 partitioned tables.

Partitioned tables physically separate rows; partitioned views logically separate rows. Just as in “Supertypes and Subtypes” where we had disjointed and overlapping conditions, you might have rows in the dimension that participate in more than one role (i.e., an overlapping condition). If you ever have an overlapping condition, your best approach is to use indexed views, even in SQL Server 2005