UPDATE limitations in Netezza

Netezza® has some limitations regarding the UPDATE statement:

• Like DELETE, an UPDATE statement locks the entire table.
• It is not possible to UPDATE distribution columns:
  • Netezza database tables get distributed across all of the nodes using the distribution column. You can specify the distribution column(s) when you create the table. See Netezza documentation for more details.
  • If you try to update a distribution column, you get error 46 "Attempt to UPDATE a distribution column".

Solution

Review the program logic if the UPDATE statements in your programs use distribution columns, and keep in mind that an UPDATE will lock the entire table.