Here I continue a series of articles devoted to new options in SQL Server 2014. Today let's review another useful operation - ONLINE rebuilding some partitions of partitioned objects (tables or indexes).First let me remind you that some versions of SQL Server (Enterprise, Evaluation, Developer) allow you to perform a number of operations in ONLINE mode. The main advantage of this mode is that we can create / change index and keep on working with the data (including changing these data) at the same time.This happens due to the fact that schema lock (Sch-M) is not retained throughout creation / changing process. Here you can find a more complete list of options supported by different versions:

It is widely known that SQL Server Enterprise Edition contains a range of improvements, which under certain conditions allow you to perform operations in a more optimal way in comparison with Standard Edition. One of these improvements is Advanced Scanning, which allows multiple scans to share one physical read from the disk. You can also come across another name of this feature - Merry-go-Round Scan.