You can use maps to reduce downtime when adding or changing the AMPs in a configuration, or to improve performance when using small tables.
With contiguous or sparse maps, you can define which tables remain in the current configuration, and which tables move to maps in to a new configuration. You can also redistribute tables for the new maps over a period of time, instead of all at the same time.
Contiguous and sparse maps are also used to run table operators on a subset of AMPs. The SYSLIB database contains functions, and the TDMaps database contain procedures, that provide information about contiguous and sparse maps.