a database management server manages a distributed data set at least partially stored in volatile memory of a plurality of nodes . the database management server stores transaction logs in persistent storage corresponding to one or more database transactions performed on the distributed data set . in response to a query , a join operation is performed with assistance from the cluster . a snapshot identifier identifies a particular database state that is transactionally consistent . based on the transactional logs , updated data blocks updated after the snapshot identifier of the query are identified . the cluster is instructed to perform one or more distributed join operations on the distributed data set without processing data in the updated data blocks . the database management server performs a partial join evaluation on the updated data blocks .