diff --git a/model/curation.go b/model/curation.go
index dc70cd8d21..da1b8251e4 100644
--- a/model/curation.go
+++ b/model/curation.go
@@ -57,10 +57,10 @@ func NewCurationRemarkFromDTO(d *dto.CurationValue) CurationRemark {
 	}
 }
 
-// CurationKey provides a representation of dto.CurationKey with asociated
+// CurationKey provides a representation of dto.CurationKey with associated
 // business logic methods attached to it to enhance code readability.
 type CurationKey struct {
-	Fingerprint              Fingerprint
+	Fingerprint              *Fingerprint
 	ProcessorMessageRaw      []byte
 	ProcessorMessageTypeName string
 	IgnoreYoungerThan        time.Duration
diff --git a/model/dto.go b/model/dto.go
index aa2904f6f5..fa3950842c 100644
--- a/model/dto.go
+++ b/model/dto.go
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ func LabelNameToDTO(l *LabelName) *dto.LabelName {
 	}
 }
 
-func FingerprintToDTO(f Fingerprint) *dto.Fingerprint {
+func FingerprintToDTO(f *Fingerprint) *dto.Fingerprint {
 	return &dto.Fingerprint{
 		Signature: proto.String(f.ToRowKey()),
 	}
diff --git a/model/fingerprinting.go b/model/fingerprinting.go
index cdd0a6bbb4..86d6afa80e 100644
--- a/model/fingerprinting.go
+++ b/model/fingerprinting.go
@@ -30,22 +30,8 @@ const (
 	rowKeyDelimiter = "-"
 )
 
-// Provides a compact representation of a Metric.
-type Fingerprint interface {
-	// Transforms the fingerprint into a database row key.
-	ToRowKey() string
-	Hash() uint64
-	FirstCharacterOfFirstLabelName() string
-	LabelMatterLength() uint
-	LastCharacterOfLastLabelValue() string
-	ToDTO() *dto.Fingerprint
-	Less(Fingerprint) bool
-	Equal(Fingerprint) bool
-	String() string
-}
-
 // Builds a Fingerprint from a row key.
-func NewFingerprintFromRowKey(rowKey string) Fingerprint {
+func NewFingerprintFromRowKey(rowKey string) *Fingerprint {
 	components := strings.Split(rowKey, rowKeyDelimiter)
 	hash, err := strconv.ParseUint(components[0], 10, 64)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -56,7 +42,7 @@ func NewFingerprintFromRowKey(rowKey string) Fingerprint {
 		panic(err)
 	}
 
-	return fingerprint{
+	return &Fingerprint{
 		hash: hash,
 		firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName: components[1],
 		labelMatterLength:              uint(labelMatterLength),
@@ -65,12 +51,12 @@ func NewFingerprintFromRowKey(rowKey string) Fingerprint {
 }
 
 // Builds a Fingerprint from a datastore entry.
-func NewFingerprintFromDTO(f *dto.Fingerprint) Fingerprint {
+func NewFingerprintFromDTO(f *dto.Fingerprint) *Fingerprint {
 	return NewFingerprintFromRowKey(*f.Signature)
 }
 
 // Decomposes a Metric into a Fingerprint.
-func NewFingerprintFromMetric(metric Metric) Fingerprint {
+func NewFingerprintFromMetric(metric Metric) *Fingerprint {
 	labelLength := len(metric)
 	labelNames := make([]string, 0, labelLength)
 
@@ -103,7 +89,7 @@ func NewFingerprintFromMetric(metric Metric) Fingerprint {
 		summer.Write([]byte(labelValue))
 	}
 
-	return fingerprint{
+	return &Fingerprint{
 		firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName: firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName,
 		hash:                          binary.LittleEndian.Uint64(summer.Sum(nil)),
 		labelMatterLength:             uint(labelMatterLength % 10),
@@ -112,7 +98,7 @@ func NewFingerprintFromMetric(metric Metric) Fingerprint {
 }
 
 // A simplified representation of an entity.
-type fingerprint struct {
+type Fingerprint struct {
 	// A hashed representation of the underyling entity.  For our purposes, FNV-1A
 	// 64-bit is used.
 	hash                           uint64
@@ -121,41 +107,69 @@ type fingerprint struct {
 	lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue  string
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) String() string {
+func (f *Fingerprint) String() string {
 	return f.ToRowKey()
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) ToRowKey() string {
+// Transforms the Fingerprint into a database row key.
+func (f *Fingerprint) ToRowKey() string {
 	return strings.Join([]string{fmt.Sprintf("%020d", f.hash), f.firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName, fmt.Sprint(f.labelMatterLength), f.lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue}, rowKeyDelimiter)
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) ToDTO() *dto.Fingerprint {
+func (f *Fingerprint) ToDTO() *dto.Fingerprint {
 	return &dto.Fingerprint{
 		Signature: proto.String(f.ToRowKey()),
 	}
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) Hash() uint64 {
+func (f *Fingerprint) Hash() uint64 {
 	return f.hash
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) FirstCharacterOfFirstLabelName() string {
+func (f *Fingerprint) FirstCharacterOfFirstLabelName() string {
 	return f.firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) LabelMatterLength() uint {
+func (f *Fingerprint) LabelMatterLength() uint {
 	return f.labelMatterLength
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) LastCharacterOfLastLabelValue() string {
+func (f *Fingerprint) LastCharacterOfLastLabelValue() string {
 	return f.lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) Less(o Fingerprint) bool {
-	return f.String() < o.String()
+func (f *Fingerprint) Less(o *Fingerprint) bool {
+	if f.hash < o.hash {
+		return true
+	}
+	if f.hash > o.hash {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if f.firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName < o.firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName {
+		return true
+	}
+	if f.firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName > o.firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if f.labelMatterLength < o.labelMatterLength {
+		return true
+	}
+	if f.labelMatterLength > o.labelMatterLength {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if f.lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue < o.lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue {
+		return true
+	}
+	if f.lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue > o.lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue {
+		return false
+	}
+	return false
 }
 
-func (f fingerprint) Equal(o Fingerprint) (equal bool) {
+func (f *Fingerprint) Equal(o *Fingerprint) (equal bool) {
 	equal = f.Hash() == o.Hash()
 	if !equal {
 		return
@@ -178,7 +192,7 @@ func (f fingerprint) Equal(o Fingerprint) (equal bool) {
 
 // Represents a collection of Fingerprint subject to a given natural sorting
 // scheme.
-type Fingerprints []Fingerprint
+type Fingerprints []*Fingerprint
 
 func (f Fingerprints) Len() int {
 	return len(f)
diff --git a/model/fingerprinting_test.go b/model/fingerprinting_test.go
index e2b2dab6c6..47b8154be8 100644
--- a/model/fingerprinting_test.go
+++ b/model/fingerprinting_test.go
@@ -14,11 +14,12 @@
 package model
 
 import (
+	"runtime"
 	"testing"
 )
 
 func TestFingerprintComparison(t *testing.T) {
-	fingerprints := []fingerprint{
+	fingerprints := []*Fingerprint{
 		{
 			hash: 0,
 			firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName: "b",
@@ -66,3 +67,38 @@ func TestFingerprintComparison(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func BenchmarkFingerprinting(b *testing.B) {
+	b.StopTimer()
+	fps := []*Fingerprint{
+		{
+			hash: 0,
+			firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName: "a",
+			labelMatterLength:              2,
+			lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue:  "z",
+		},
+		{
+			hash: 0,
+			firstCharacterOfFirstLabelName: "a",
+			labelMatterLength:              2,
+			lastCharacterOfLastLabelValue:  "z",
+		},
+	}
+	for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
+		fps[0].Less(fps[1])
+	}
+	b.Logf("N: %v", b.N)
+	b.StartTimer()
+
+	var pre runtime.MemStats
+	runtime.ReadMemStats(&pre)
+
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		fps[0].Less(fps[1])
+	}
+
+	var post runtime.MemStats
+	runtime.ReadMemStats(&post)
+
+	b.Logf("allocs: %d items: ", post.TotalAlloc-pre.TotalAlloc)
+}
diff --git a/model/metric.go b/model/metric.go
index 892e620374..6103e7bc5b 100644
--- a/model/metric.go
+++ b/model/metric.go
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ func (v Values) ToDTO() (out *dto.SampleValueSeries) {
 	return
 }
 
-func (v Values) ToSampleKey(f Fingerprint) SampleKey {
+func (v Values) ToSampleKey(f *Fingerprint) SampleKey {
 	return SampleKey{
 		Fingerprint:    f,
 		FirstTimestamp: v[0].Timestamp,
diff --git a/model/samplekey.go b/model/samplekey.go
index 39ac893859..584718a40d 100644
--- a/model/samplekey.go
+++ b/model/samplekey.go
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import (
 // SampleKey models the business logic around the data-transfer object
 // SampleKey.
 type SampleKey struct {
-	Fingerprint    Fingerprint
+	Fingerprint    *Fingerprint
 	FirstTimestamp time.Time
 	LastTimestamp  time.Time
 	SampleCount    uint32
diff --git a/rules/alerting.go b/rules/alerting.go
index d7d56d58a5..001b577378 100644
--- a/rules/alerting.go
+++ b/rules/alerting.go
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ func (rule AlertingRule) Eval(timestamp time.Time, storage *metric.TieredStorage
 	// Create pending alerts for any new vector elements in the alert expression.
 	resultFingerprints := utility.Set{}
 	for _, sample := range exprResult {
-		fp := model.NewFingerprintFromMetric(sample.Metric)
+		fp := *model.NewFingerprintFromMetric(sample.Metric)
 		resultFingerprints.Add(fp)
 
 		if _, ok := rule.activeAlerts[fp]; !ok {
diff --git a/rules/ast/query_analyzer.go b/rules/ast/query_analyzer.go
index 42200c8047..4afd961504 100644
--- a/rules/ast/query_analyzer.go
+++ b/rules/ast/query_analyzer.go
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ func (analyzer *QueryAnalyzer) Visit(node Node) {
 		}
 		n.fingerprints = fingerprints
 		for _, fingerprint := range fingerprints {
-			if !analyzer.IntervalRanges[fingerprint] {
-				analyzer.IntervalRanges[fingerprint] = true
+			if !analyzer.IntervalRanges[*fingerprint] {
+				analyzer.IntervalRanges[*fingerprint] = true
 			}
 		}
 	case *MatrixLiteral:
@@ -73,12 +73,12 @@ func (analyzer *QueryAnalyzer) Visit(node Node) {
 			interval := n.interval
 			// If an interval has already been recorded for this fingerprint, merge
 			// it with the current interval.
-			if oldInterval, ok := analyzer.FullRanges[fingerprint]; ok {
+			if oldInterval, ok := analyzer.FullRanges[*fingerprint]; ok {
 				if oldInterval > interval {
 					interval = oldInterval
 				}
 			}
-			analyzer.FullRanges[fingerprint] = interval
+			analyzer.FullRanges[*fingerprint] = interval
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/storage/metric/curator.go b/storage/metric/curator.go
index 33010b6893..e7bc51692e 100644
--- a/storage/metric/curator.go
+++ b/storage/metric/curator.go
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ type CurationState struct {
 	Active      bool
 	Name        string
 	Limit       time.Duration
-	Fingerprint model.Fingerprint
+	Fingerprint *model.Fingerprint
 }
 
 // watermarkFilter determines whether to include or exclude candidate
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ func (w watermarkFilter) shouldStop() bool {
 	return len(w.stop) != 0
 }
 
-func getCurationRemark(states raw.Persistence, processor Processor, ignoreYoungerThan time.Duration, fingerprint model.Fingerprint) (remark *model.CurationRemark, err error) {
+func getCurationRemark(states raw.Persistence, processor Processor, ignoreYoungerThan time.Duration, fingerprint *model.Fingerprint) (remark *model.CurationRemark, err error) {
 	rawSignature, err := processor.Signature()
 	if err != nil {
 		return
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ func getCurationRemark(states raw.Persistence, processor Processor, ignoreYounge
 }
 
 func (w watermarkFilter) Filter(key, value interface{}) (r storage.FilterResult) {
-	fingerprint := key.(model.Fingerprint)
+	fingerprint := key.(*model.Fingerprint)
 
 	defer func() {
 		labels := map[string]string{
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ func (w watermarkFilter) Filter(key, value interface{}) (r storage.FilterResult)
 
 // curationConsistent determines whether the given metric is in a dirty state
 // and needs curation.
-func (w watermarkFilter) curationConsistent(f model.Fingerprint, watermark model.Watermark) (consistent bool, err error) {
+func (w watermarkFilter) curationConsistent(f *model.Fingerprint, watermark model.Watermark) (consistent bool, err error) {
 	curationRemark, err := getCurationRemark(w.curationState, w.processor, w.ignoreYoungerThan, f)
 	if err != nil {
 		return
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ func (w watermarkFilter) curationConsistent(f model.Fingerprint, watermark model
 }
 
 func (w watermarkOperator) Operate(key, _ interface{}) (oErr *storage.OperatorError) {
-	fingerprint := key.(model.Fingerprint)
+	fingerprint := key.(*model.Fingerprint)
 
 	seriesFrontier, err := newSeriesFrontier(fingerprint, w.diskFrontier, w.sampleIterator)
 	if err != nil || seriesFrontier == nil {
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ func (w watermarkOperator) Operate(key, _ interface{}) (oErr *storage.OperatorEr
 	return
 }
 
-func (w watermarkOperator) refreshCurationRemark(f model.Fingerprint, finished time.Time) (err error) {
+func (w watermarkOperator) refreshCurationRemark(f *model.Fingerprint, finished time.Time) (err error) {
 	signature, err := w.processor.Signature()
 	if err != nil {
 		return
diff --git a/storage/metric/frontier.go b/storage/metric/frontier.go
index 276eb5788f..033f1c570b 100644
--- a/storage/metric/frontier.go
+++ b/storage/metric/frontier.go
@@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ import (
 // This is used to reduce the burden associated with LevelDB iterator
 // management.
 type diskFrontier struct {
-	firstFingerprint model.Fingerprint
+	firstFingerprint *model.Fingerprint
 	firstSupertime   time.Time
-	lastFingerprint  model.Fingerprint
+	lastFingerprint  *model.Fingerprint
 	lastSupertime    time.Time
 }
 
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func (f diskFrontier) String() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("diskFrontier from %s at %s to %s at %s", f.firstFingerprint.ToRowKey(), f.firstSupertime, f.lastFingerprint.ToRowKey(), f.lastSupertime)
 }
 
-func (f diskFrontier) ContainsFingerprint(fingerprint model.Fingerprint) bool {
+func (f diskFrontier) ContainsFingerprint(fingerprint *model.Fingerprint) bool {
 	return !(fingerprint.Less(f.firstFingerprint) || f.lastFingerprint.Less(fingerprint))
 }
 
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ func (f seriesFrontier) String() string {
 // newSeriesFrontier furnishes a populated diskFrontier for a given
 // fingerprint.  A nil diskFrontier will be returned if the series cannot
 // be found in the store.
-func newSeriesFrontier(f model.Fingerprint, d diskFrontier, i leveldb.Iterator) (s *seriesFrontier, err error) {
+func newSeriesFrontier(f *model.Fingerprint, d diskFrontier, i leveldb.Iterator) (s *seriesFrontier, err error) {
 	lowerSeek := firstSupertime
 	upperSeek := lastSupertime
 
diff --git a/storage/metric/interface.go b/storage/metric/interface.go
index f4de63c1d3..a3378c8f4d 100644
--- a/storage/metric/interface.go
+++ b/storage/metric/interface.go
@@ -45,11 +45,11 @@ type MetricPersistence interface {
 	GetFingerprintsForLabelName(model.LabelName) (model.Fingerprints, error)
 
 	// Get the metric associated with the provided fingerprint.
-	GetMetricForFingerprint(model.Fingerprint) (model.Metric, error)
+	GetMetricForFingerprint(*model.Fingerprint) (model.Metric, error)
 
-	GetValueAtTime(model.Fingerprint, time.Time) model.Values
-	GetBoundaryValues(model.Fingerprint, model.Interval) (first model.Values, second model.Values)
-	GetRangeValues(model.Fingerprint, model.Interval) model.Values
+	GetValueAtTime(*model.Fingerprint, time.Time) model.Values
+	GetBoundaryValues(*model.Fingerprint, model.Interval) (first model.Values, second model.Values)
+	GetRangeValues(*model.Fingerprint, model.Interval) model.Values
 
 	ForEachSample(IteratorsForFingerprintBuilder) (err error)
 
@@ -64,16 +64,16 @@ type MetricPersistence interface {
 // View provides view of the values in the datastore subject to the request of a
 // preloading operation.
 type View interface {
-	GetValueAtTime(model.Fingerprint, time.Time) model.Values
-	GetBoundaryValues(model.Fingerprint, model.Interval) (first model.Values, second model.Values)
-	GetRangeValues(model.Fingerprint, model.Interval) model.Values
+	GetValueAtTime(*model.Fingerprint, time.Time) model.Values
+	GetBoundaryValues(*model.Fingerprint, model.Interval) (first model.Values, second model.Values)
+	GetRangeValues(*model.Fingerprint, model.Interval) model.Values
 
 	// Destroy this view.
 	Close()
 }
 
 type Series interface {
-	Fingerprint() model.Fingerprint
+	Fingerprint() *model.Fingerprint
 	Metric() model.Metric
 }
 
diff --git a/storage/metric/leveldb.go b/storage/metric/leveldb.go
index 902c3ed842..09db056d7a 100644
--- a/storage/metric/leveldb.go
+++ b/storage/metric/leveldb.go
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ func groupByFingerprint(samples model.Samples) map[model.Fingerprint]model.Sampl
 	)
 
 	for _, sample := range samples {
-		fingerprint := model.NewFingerprintFromMetric(sample.Metric)
+		fingerprint := *model.NewFingerprintFromMetric(sample.Metric)
 		samples := fingerprintToSamples[fingerprint]
 		samples = append(samples, sample)
 		fingerprintToSamples[fingerprint] = samples
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) indexLabelNames(metrics map[model.Fingerprint
 				}
 
 				for _, fingerprint := range fingerprints {
-					fingerprintSet.Add(fingerprint)
+					fingerprintSet.Add(*fingerprint)
 				}
 			}
 
@@ -291,8 +291,9 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) indexLabelNames(metrics map[model.Fingerprint
 
 	for labelName, fingerprintSet := range labelNameFingerprints {
 		fingerprints := model.Fingerprints{}
-		for fingerprint := range fingerprintSet {
-			fingerprints = append(fingerprints, fingerprint.(model.Fingerprint))
+		for e := range fingerprintSet {
+			fingerprint := e.(model.Fingerprint)
+			fingerprints = append(fingerprints, &fingerprint)
 		}
 
 		sort.Sort(fingerprints)
@@ -348,7 +349,7 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) indexLabelPairs(metrics map[model.Fingerprint
 				}
 
 				for _, fingerprint := range fingerprints {
-					fingerprintSet.Add(fingerprint)
+					fingerprintSet.Add(*fingerprint)
 				}
 			}
 
@@ -362,8 +363,9 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) indexLabelPairs(metrics map[model.Fingerprint
 
 	for labelPair, fingerprintSet := range labelPairFingerprints {
 		fingerprints := model.Fingerprints{}
-		for fingerprint := range fingerprintSet {
-			fingerprints = append(fingerprints, fingerprint.(model.Fingerprint))
+		for e := range fingerprintSet {
+			fingerprint := e.(model.Fingerprint)
+			fingerprints = append(fingerprints, &fingerprint)
 		}
 
 		sort.Sort(fingerprints)
@@ -578,7 +580,7 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) AppendSamples(samples model.Samples) (err err
 			group = group[take:lengthOfGroup]
 
 			key := model.SampleKey{
-				Fingerprint:    fingerprint,
+				Fingerprint:    &fingerprint,
 				FirstTimestamp: chunk[0].Timestamp,
 				LastTimestamp:  chunk[take-1].Timestamp,
 				SampleCount:    uint32(take),
@@ -722,7 +724,7 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetFingerprintsForLabelSet(labelSet model.Lab
 
 		for _, m := range unmarshaled.Member {
 			fp := model.NewFingerprintFromRowKey(*m.Signature)
-			set.Add(fp)
+			set.Add(*fp)
 		}
 
 		sets = append(sets, set)
@@ -739,7 +741,7 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetFingerprintsForLabelSet(labelSet model.Lab
 	}
 	for _, e := range base.Elements() {
 		fingerprint := e.(model.Fingerprint)
-		fps = append(fps, fingerprint)
+		fps = append(fps, &fingerprint)
 	}
 
 	return
@@ -772,7 +774,7 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetFingerprintsForLabelName(labelName model.L
 	return
 }
 
-func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetMetricForFingerprint(f model.Fingerprint) (m model.Metric, err error) {
+func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetMetricForFingerprint(f *model.Fingerprint) (m model.Metric, err error) {
 	defer func(begin time.Time) {
 		duration := time.Since(begin)
 
@@ -799,15 +801,15 @@ func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetMetricForFingerprint(f model.Fingerprint)
 	return
 }
 
-func (l LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetValueAtTime(f model.Fingerprint, t time.Time) (samples model.Values) {
+func (l LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetValueAtTime(f *model.Fingerprint, t time.Time) (samples model.Values) {
 	panic("Not implemented")
 }
 
-func (l LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetBoundaryValues(f model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (first model.Values, second model.Values) {
+func (l LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetBoundaryValues(f *model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (first model.Values, second model.Values) {
 	panic("Not implemented")
 }
 
-func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetRangeValues(f model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (samples model.Values) {
+func (l *LevelDBMetricPersistence) GetRangeValues(f *model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (samples model.Values) {
 	panic("Not implemented")
 }
 
diff --git a/storage/metric/memory.go b/storage/metric/memory.go
index c4c3639e20..a50a8fa2e1 100644
--- a/storage/metric/memory.go
+++ b/storage/metric/memory.go
@@ -114,11 +114,11 @@ func (s *memorySeriesStorage) AppendSamples(samples model.Samples) error {
 func (s *memorySeriesStorage) AppendSample(sample model.Sample) error {
 	metric := sample.Metric
 	fingerprint := model.NewFingerprintFromMetric(metric)
-	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[fingerprint]
+	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[*fingerprint]
 
 	if !ok {
 		series = newStream(metric)
-		s.fingerprintToSeries[fingerprint] = series
+		s.fingerprintToSeries[*fingerprint] = series
 
 		for k, v := range metric {
 			labelPair := model.LabelPair{
@@ -142,12 +142,12 @@ func (s *memorySeriesStorage) AppendSample(sample model.Sample) error {
 
 // Append raw sample, bypassing indexing. Only used to add data to views, which
 // don't need to lookup by metric.
-func (s *memorySeriesStorage) appendSampleWithoutIndexing(f model.Fingerprint, timestamp time.Time, value model.SampleValue) {
-	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[f]
+func (s *memorySeriesStorage) appendSampleWithoutIndexing(f *model.Fingerprint, timestamp time.Time, value model.SampleValue) {
+	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[*f]
 
 	if !ok {
 		series = newStream(model.Metric{})
-		s.fingerprintToSeries[f] = series
+		s.fingerprintToSeries[*f] = series
 	}
 
 	series.add(timestamp, value)
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetFingerprintsForLabelSet(l model.LabelSet) (fing
 		}]
 		set := utility.Set{}
 		for _, fingerprint := range values {
-			set.Add(fingerprint)
+			set.Add(*fingerprint)
 		}
 		sets = append(sets, set)
 	}
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetFingerprintsForLabelSet(l model.LabelSet) (fing
 	}
 	for _, e := range base.Elements() {
 		fingerprint := e.(model.Fingerprint)
-		fingerprints = append(fingerprints, fingerprint)
+		fingerprints = append(fingerprints, &fingerprint)
 	}
 
 	return fingerprints, nil
@@ -194,8 +194,8 @@ func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetFingerprintsForLabelName(l model.LabelName) (fi
 	return fingerprints, nil
 }
 
-func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetMetricForFingerprint(f model.Fingerprint) (model.Metric, error) {
-	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[f]
+func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetMetricForFingerprint(f *model.Fingerprint) (model.Metric, error) {
+	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[*f]
 	if !ok {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
@@ -208,8 +208,8 @@ func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetMetricForFingerprint(f model.Fingerprint) (mode
 	return metric, nil
 }
 
-func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetValueAtTime(f model.Fingerprint, t time.Time) (samples model.Values) {
-	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[f]
+func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetValueAtTime(f *model.Fingerprint, t time.Time) (samples model.Values) {
+	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[*f]
 	if !ok {
 		return samples
 	}
@@ -249,12 +249,12 @@ func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetValueAtTime(f model.Fingerprint, t time.Time) (
 	return samples
 }
 
-func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetBoundaryValues(f model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (model.Values, model.Values) {
+func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetBoundaryValues(f *model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (model.Values, model.Values) {
 	return s.GetValueAtTime(f, i.OldestInclusive), s.GetValueAtTime(f, i.NewestInclusive)
 }
 
-func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetRangeValues(f model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (samples model.Values) {
-	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[f]
+func (s *memorySeriesStorage) GetRangeValues(f *model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (samples model.Values) {
+	series, ok := s.fingerprintToSeries[*f]
 	if !ok {
 		return samples
 	}
diff --git a/storage/metric/processor.go b/storage/metric/processor.go
index 3968f5a5b9..88e7403d62 100644
--- a/storage/metric/processor.go
+++ b/storage/metric/processor.go
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ type Processor interface {
 	//
 	// Upon completion or error, the last time at which the processor finished
 	// shall be emitted in addition to any errors.
-	Apply(sampleIterator leveldb.Iterator, samplesPersistence raw.Persistence, stopAt time.Time, fingerprint model.Fingerprint) (lastCurated time.Time, err error)
+	Apply(sampleIterator leveldb.Iterator, samplesPersistence raw.Persistence, stopAt time.Time, fingerprint *model.Fingerprint) (lastCurated time.Time, err error)
 }
 
 // CompactionProcessor combines sparse values in the database together such
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ func (p CompactionProcessor) String() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("compactionProcessor for minimum group size %d", p.MinimumGroupSize)
 }
 
-func (p CompactionProcessor) Apply(sampleIterator leveldb.Iterator, samplesPersistence raw.Persistence, stopAt time.Time, fingerprint model.Fingerprint) (lastCurated time.Time, err error) {
+func (p CompactionProcessor) Apply(sampleIterator leveldb.Iterator, samplesPersistence raw.Persistence, stopAt time.Time, fingerprint *model.Fingerprint) (lastCurated time.Time, err error) {
 	var pendingBatch raw.Batch = nil
 
 	defer func() {
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ func (p DeletionProcessor) String() string {
 	return "deletionProcessor"
 }
 
-func (p DeletionProcessor) Apply(sampleIterator leveldb.Iterator, samplesPersistence raw.Persistence, stopAt time.Time, fingerprint model.Fingerprint) (lastCurated time.Time, err error) {
+func (p DeletionProcessor) Apply(sampleIterator leveldb.Iterator, samplesPersistence raw.Persistence, stopAt time.Time, fingerprint *model.Fingerprint) (lastCurated time.Time, err error) {
 	var pendingBatch raw.Batch = nil
 
 	defer func() {
diff --git a/storage/metric/scanjob.go b/storage/metric/scanjob.go
index dd8d29b46b..6a8b4a198b 100644
--- a/storage/metric/scanjob.go
+++ b/storage/metric/scanjob.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import (
 
 // scanJob models a range of queries.
 type scanJob struct {
-	fingerprint model.Fingerprint
+	fingerprint *model.Fingerprint
 	operations  ops
 }
 
diff --git a/storage/metric/stochastic_test.go b/storage/metric/stochastic_test.go
index 6b95744c9c..2f34703daa 100644
--- a/storage/metric/stochastic_test.go
+++ b/storage/metric/stochastic_test.go
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ func AppendSampleAsPureSingleEntityAppendTests(p MetricPersistence, t test.Teste
 	}
 }
 
-func levelDBGetRangeValues(l *LevelDBMetricPersistence, fp model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (samples model.Values, err error) {
+func levelDBGetRangeValues(l *LevelDBMetricPersistence, fp *model.Fingerprint, i model.Interval) (samples model.Values, err error) {
 	k := &dto.SampleKey{
 		Fingerprint: fp.ToDTO(),
 		Timestamp:   indexable.EncodeTime(i.OldestInclusive),
diff --git a/storage/metric/tiered.go b/storage/metric/tiered.go
index b4b5ccccc2..ccf16022c7 100644
--- a/storage/metric/tiered.go
+++ b/storage/metric/tiered.go
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ func (t *TieredStorage) renderView(viewJob viewJob) {
 	return
 }
 
-func (t *TieredStorage) loadChunkAroundTime(iterator leveldb.Iterator, frontier *seriesFrontier, fingerprint model.Fingerprint, ts time.Time) (chunk model.Values) {
+func (t *TieredStorage) loadChunkAroundTime(iterator leveldb.Iterator, frontier *seriesFrontier, fingerprint *model.Fingerprint, ts time.Time) (chunk model.Values) {
 	var (
 		targetKey = &dto.SampleKey{
 			Fingerprint: fingerprint.ToDTO(),
@@ -582,17 +582,18 @@ func (t *TieredStorage) GetFingerprintsForLabelSet(labelSet model.LabelSet) (fin
 	}
 	fingerprintSet := map[model.Fingerprint]bool{}
 	for _, fingerprint := range append(memFingerprints, diskFingerprints...) {
-		fingerprintSet[fingerprint] = true
+		fingerprintSet[*fingerprint] = true
 	}
 	for fingerprint := range fingerprintSet {
-		fingerprints = append(fingerprints, fingerprint)
+		fpCopy := fingerprint
+		fingerprints = append(fingerprints, &fpCopy)
 	}
 
 	return
 }
 
 // Get the metric associated with the provided fingerprint.
-func (t *TieredStorage) GetMetricForFingerprint(f model.Fingerprint) (m model.Metric, err error) {
+func (t *TieredStorage) GetMetricForFingerprint(f *model.Fingerprint) (m model.Metric, err error) {
 	m, err = t.memoryArena.GetMetricForFingerprint(f)
 	if err != nil {
 		return
diff --git a/storage/metric/tiered_test.go b/storage/metric/tiered_test.go
index 614549c20f..2cc02fb8e1 100644
--- a/storage/metric/tiered_test.go
+++ b/storage/metric/tiered_test.go
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ func testMakeView(t test.Tester, flushToDisk bool) {
 	var (
 		instant     = time.Date(1984, 3, 30, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.Local)
 		metric      = model.Metric{model.MetricNameLabel: "request_count"}
-		fingerprint = model.NewFingerprintFromMetric(metric)
+		fingerprint = *model.NewFingerprintFromMetric(metric)
 		scenarios   = []struct {
 			data []model.Sample
 			in   in
@@ -370,7 +370,7 @@ func testMakeView(t test.Tester, flushToDisk bool) {
 		}
 
 		for j, atTime := range scenario.in.atTime {
-			actual := v.GetValueAtTime(fingerprint, atTime.time)
+			actual := v.GetValueAtTime(&fingerprint, atTime.time)
 
 			if len(actual) != len(scenario.out.atTime[j]) {
 				t.Fatalf("%d.%d. expected %d output, got %d", i, j, len(scenario.out.atTime[j]), len(actual))
diff --git a/storage/metric/view.go b/storage/metric/view.go
index a8d13f4304..a0ef8af7f7 100644
--- a/storage/metric/view.go
+++ b/storage/metric/view.go
@@ -87,8 +87,9 @@ func (v viewRequestBuilder) ScanJobs() (j scanJobs) {
 	for fingerprint, operations := range v.operations {
 		sort.Sort(startsAtSort{operations})
 
+		fpCopy := fingerprint
 		j = append(j, scanJob{
-			fingerprint: fingerprint,
+			fingerprint: &fpCopy,
 			operations:  optimize(operations),
 		})
 
@@ -104,7 +105,7 @@ type view struct {
 	*memorySeriesStorage
 }
 
-func (v view) appendSample(fingerprint model.Fingerprint, timestamp time.Time, value model.SampleValue) {
+func (v view) appendSample(fingerprint *model.Fingerprint, timestamp time.Time, value model.SampleValue) {
 	v.memorySeriesStorage.appendSampleWithoutIndexing(fingerprint, timestamp, value)
 }
 
diff --git a/storage/metric/view_test.go b/storage/metric/view_test.go
index 5335c3b069..a255c2452e 100644
--- a/storage/metric/view_test.go
+++ b/storage/metric/view_test.go
@@ -144,17 +144,17 @@ func testBuilder(t test.Tester) {
 		}
 
 		for _, atTime := range scenario.in.atTimes {
-			fingerprint := model.NewFingerprintFromRowKey(atTime.fingerprint)
+			fingerprint := *model.NewFingerprintFromRowKey(atTime.fingerprint)
 			builder.GetMetricAtTime(fingerprint, atTime.time)
 		}
 
 		for _, atInterval := range scenario.in.atIntervals {
-			fingerprint := model.NewFingerprintFromRowKey(atInterval.fingerprint)
+			fingerprint := *model.NewFingerprintFromRowKey(atInterval.fingerprint)
 			builder.GetMetricAtInterval(fingerprint, atInterval.from, atInterval.through, atInterval.interval)
 		}
 
 		for _, atRange := range scenario.in.atRanges {
-			fingerprint := model.NewFingerprintFromRowKey(atRange.fingerprint)
+			fingerprint := *model.NewFingerprintFromRowKey(atRange.fingerprint)
 			builder.GetMetricRange(fingerprint, atRange.from, atRange.through)
 		}