# Large data volumes, data skew and sharing recalculation

*Agentforce Sales Consultant Study Guide · Data Management · Last updated October 15, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/agentforce-sales-consultant/data-management/large-data-volumes-data-skew-and-sharing-recalculation*

Spot account data, ownership and lookup skew, keep large loads and deletes fast (Bulk API batches, hard delete, truncate, PK chunking, skinny tables), and plan ownership transfers and deferred sharing calculation so a sales org still performs at projected volume.

- Certification: Salesforce Agentforce Sales Consultant
- Exam section: Data Management
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/agentforce-sales-consultant

**Official exam objective:**

> Given a scenario, outline the scalability implications of a solution.

## What the exam expects

- Recognize account data skew, ownership skew and lookup skew in a sales design and recommend the documented fix for each.
- Reduce record locking during big loads, and pick hard delete, truncate, PK chunking or a skinny table for a volume problem.
- Plan ownership transfers and deferred sharing calculation: what triggers recalculation, what deferral does not suspend, and what must happen afterwards.
- Frame scalability as a design responsibility: project growth, look for concentration, and prove performance in a full copy sandbox.

Key terms: **data skew** (more than 10,000 child records under one parent); **ownership skew** (one user owns a very large number of records of one object); **lookup skew** (a very large number of records point to one lookup record); **sharing recalculation** (re-evaluating sharing rules and group membership after access changes); **hard delete** (a Bulk API delete that bypasses the Recycle Bin).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Data skew threshold | More than 10,000 child records on one parent | [Design Your Data Model](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/design-your-data-model) |
| Unavoidable ownership skew | Give the skewed owner no role | [Design Your Data Model](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/design-your-data-model) |
| Bulk API batch size | 10,000 records max | [Load Your Data](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/load-your-data) |
| Recycle Bin | 15 days or until it reaches its size limit; soft-deleted rows still excluded from queries | [Perform Data Deletes and Extracts](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/perform-data-deletes-and-extracts) |
| Hard delete | Bypasses the Recycle Bin; disabled by default | [Perform Data Deletes and Extracts](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/perform-data-deletes-and-extracts) |
| PK chunking | Tables over 10 million records or bulk queries that time out | [Perform Data Deletes and Extracts](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/perform-data-deletes-and-extracts) |
| Defer sharing | Off by default; enabled by Customer Support | [Defer Sharing Calculations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.security_sharing_defer_sharing_calculations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Master-detail children | Inherit the master's security; keep under 10,000 per master | [Object Relationships Overview](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.overview_of_custom_object_relationships.htm&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Why does parking 200,000 contacts under one Unassigned account cause save errors?
- When should a consultant enable PK chunking?
- Why prefer hard delete over a normal delete for millions of obsolete records?
- Which activities trigger sharing rule recalculation?

## Sources

- [Design Your Data Model (Trailhead, Large Data Volumes)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/design-your-data-model)
- [Understand Scalability at Salesforce (Trailhead)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/scalability-with-salesforce/understand-scalability-at-salesforce)
- [Manage Data at Scale with Salesforce (Trailhead)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/scalability-with-salesforce/manage-data-at-scale-with-salesforce)
- [Test Platform Performance at Scale (Trailhead)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/scalability-with-salesforce/test-platform-performance-at-scale)
- [Defer Sharing Calculations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.security_sharing_defer_sharing_calculations.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Perform Data Deletes and Extracts (Trailhead, Large Data Volumes)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/perform-data-deletes-and-extracts)
- [Conduct Data Queries and Searches (Trailhead, Large Data Volumes)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/conduct-data-queries-and-searches)
- [Load Your Data (Trailhead, Large Data Volumes)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes/load-your-data)
- [Object Relationships Overview](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.overview_of_custom_object_relationships.htm&type=5)
- [Optimizing Large Data Volumes (Trailhead module)](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/large-data-volumes)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 21 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Agentforce Sales Consultant pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams