Which process would typically slow down INSERT and UPDATE operations in a database?

Indexing is a vital process used in database management systems to enhance query performance by allowing quicker access to rows in a table. However, while indexing significantly speeds up search operations like SELECT queries, it can also introduce overhead for INSERT and UPDATE operations.

When a new record is inserted or an existing record is updated, the database must not only write the new or changed data to the table but also update any associated indexes. This means additional time and resources are required to maintain these indexes, which can slow down the overall performance of these operations. The overhead comes from the necessity of maintaining the data structure of the index to ensure that it remains sorted and accessible.

In contrast, other processes like normalization involve organizing data to minimize redundancy, which can actually streamline storage and improve data integrity, potentially speeding up certain types of operations. Replication involves maintaining copies of data across different database servers, which adds complexity and potential delays, but primarily affects read performance rather than write operations. Sharding, a method of distributing data across multiple machines, can help in managing large volumes of data more efficiently and may enhance performance through parallel processing rather than slowing it down.

Thus, indexing is indeed the process that would typically slow down INSERT and UPDATE operations in a database due to the necessary