SQL Server Efficiently dropping a group of rows with millions and millions of rows

Question

I recently asked this question: MS SQL share identity seed amongst tables (Many people wondered why)

I have the following layout of a table:

Table: Star

Answer 1

I didn't get an answer to my comment on the original post, so I am going under some assumptions...

Here's my idea: use multiple databases, one for each category.

You can use the managed ESE database that ships with every version of Windows, for free.

Use the PersistentDictionary object, and keep track of the starid, starname pairs that way. If you need to delete a category, just delete the PersistentDictionary object for that category.

PersistentDictionary starsForCategory = new PersistentDictionary("Category1");

This will create a database called "Category1", on which you can use standard .NET dictionary methods (add, exists, foreach, etc).