To specify the partition key for key range partitioning, select the partition point on the Partitions view of the Mapping tab, and click Edit Keys. This displays the Edit Partition Key dialog box. The Available Ports list displays the connected input and input/output ports in the transformation. To specify the partition key, select one or more ports from this list, and then click Add.

The following image shows the Edit Partition Key dialog box with one port selected as the partition key for the target table T_ITEM_PRICES:

To rearrange the order of the ports that define the partition key, select a port in the Selected Ports list and click the up or down arrow.

In key range partitioning, the order of the ports does not affect how the Integration Service redistributes rows among partitions, but it can affect session performance. For example, you might configure the following compound partition key:

Since boolean comparisons are usually faster than string comparisons, the session may run faster if you arrange the ports in the following order: