Re: could not log into database

"Uwe Wagner" <Uwe.Wagner_at_gef.de> wrote in message news:<apo431$crt$1_at_cvs-server.gef.de>...
> Hi,
>
> we are using ORACLE 8.1.7 on SuSE 7.0.
> Some days ago the filesystem was full and no connect except internal was
> allowed because of a lot of archiv files in
> /db/oracle/OraHome1/admin/orcl/arch.
> This directory is on the same filesystem as the database files.The database
> files has a size of about 50 GB, the filesystem
> has a size of 80 GB.
> Most of the time there are 25 GB free on the filesystem, but when we mae a
> lot of actions like creating and deleting tables, the filesystem was full
> because of a lot of archive files.
>
> What can I do ?
> A greater disk is one solution, but not a good one I think.
> How big must be the size of the filesystem for the archive files, if the
> database files has a size of 50 GB ?
>
> thanks
> uwe

Hi Uwe,

Several points from your posting:

It's definitely a BAD idea to have your archived redo logs in the same filesystem as your database files, both from a security and, to a lesser extent, from a performance perspective. I realise you may not be in a position to change that immediately, but it's worth bearing in mind to do so if you possibly can.

The fact that you say that most of the time there is 25 GBytes free in the filesystem suggests to me that you have a scheduled job which is moving archive logs elsewhere at regular intervals. Increasing the frequency of that job would help alleviate the space problems. As to how large the space allocated to archive logs should be, well that's a matter for your own judgement really. We normally keep about 14 days of logs online, even though we backup the databases every night. Beyond that, we would have to restore logs from tape. But it really does depend on your own situation. The more frequently you do backups of your database the less archive logs you will need to recover. Obviously if you need to restore logs from tape your downtime during recovery will be greater.

Bear in mind how *critical* archive logs are in ensuring the security of your data. Are your logs written to multiple locations (the LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_n parameter in your init.ora file) and/or are the logs mirrored in hardware? Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, but I know from bitter experience how important archive logs are!

All the best.

Tim Kearsley
Database Manager
Milton Keynes Council Received on Thu Oct 31 2002 - 03:57:31 CST