SF-Data-Arch Large Data Volume Considerations Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are consequences of having excessive indexes on a Salesforce object with large data volumes?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume indexes only have positive impacts, forgetting that database maintenance of numerous indexes severely degrades DML performance.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Increased time to complete DML operations.
While indexes improve read performance, they impose a cost on write operations. Every time a record is inserted, updated, or deleted, Salesforce must update all associated index tables. With an excessive number of indexes, this overhead becomes significant, leading to slower transaction times, potential lock contention, and overall system instability during high-volume DML activities. Balancing read performance needs with write performance costs is critical in data architecture.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Improved insert and update performance.
Why it's wrong here
Insert and update operations are negatively impacted by excessive indexes. The system must update each index entry for every write, which increases transaction time and resource consumption. This makes large-volume imports significantly slower as the number of indexed fields grows on the target object.
- ✓
Increased time to complete DML operations.
Why this is correct
Because each write requires an update to the corresponding index table, having many indexes adds cumulative overhead to every DML statement. This lengthens the time required to commit transactions, which can eventually lead to governor limit issues and performance bottlenecks in high-volume environments.
- ✗
Faster SOQL query execution times.
Why it's wrong here
While indexes can make queries faster, having an excessive number does not inherently speed up query execution; in fact, the optimizer might struggle to choose the best index among too many options, leading to plan instability. The performance benefit of an index is achieved through selectivity, not quantity.
- ✓
Higher risk of row-level locking contention.
Why this is correct
Longer-running transactions caused by the overhead of maintaining many indexes increase the duration that records remain locked. This elevates the risk of contention and timeout errors, as other threads must wait longer for the database to finish updating the indexes before they can access the records.
- ✗
Automatic reduction in storage space usage.
Why it's wrong here
Indexes actually consume additional storage space within the Salesforce database. Each index table requires physical space, so having an excessive number of indexes will increase, rather than decrease, the storage footprint of the object, which can have implications for the organization's total data storage usage.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Salesforce exam blueprint
This SF-Data-Arch practice question is part of Courseiva's free Salesforce certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SF-Data-Arch exam.