Scaling for Query Volume
Problem: When a query has a large limit (e.g. 1000) and there are multiple shards (e.g. 10), naively each shard must return the full 1000 results — totaling 10,000 scored points transferred and merged. This is wasteful since data is randomly distributed across auto-shards.
Core idea
Instead of asking every shard for the full limit, ask each shard for a smaller limit computed via Poisson distribution statistics, then merge. This is safe because auto-sharding guarantees random, independent data distribution.
When it activates
- More than 1 shard
- Auto-sharding is in use (all queried shards share the same shard key)
- The request's limit + offset >= SHARD_QUERY_SUBSAMPLING_LIMIT (128)
- The query is not exact
Key tradeoff
The strategy trades a small probability of slightly incomplete results for a large reduction in inter-shard data transfer, especially for high-limit queries across many shards. The 1.2x safety factor and the 99.9% Poisson threshold keep the error rate very low — comparable to inaccuracies already introduced by approximate vector indices like HNSW.
