Why are archive logs only approx. 50% of the size of the redo logs?

OS=Sun Solaris
Oracle version = 10.1.0.4
Archive log =Yes

Hi,

I'm seeing some archived redo logs characteristics that I can't seem to figure out. I have a database where the redo logs are sized at 50M each.

   MEMBERS BYTES
---------- ----------

         2   52428800
         2   52428800
         2   52428800

Yet the archive logs are only about 50% of the size of the redo logs:

26807808 soews002_1_179644_459859572.arch
26449920 soews002_1_179643_459859572.arch
26586624 soews002_1_179642_459859572.arch
29718528 soews002_1_179641_459859572.arch

I have checked the alert log to verify that no manual log switch commands have been issued. My expectation would be that the archived redo would be close to if not the same size as the online redo logs.

Is there anything other than a manual log switch that would cause the online logs to switch before they are full? I'm making the assumption that the online logs are switching before they are full because they are only half the size of the archived redo logs. Is this an accurate assumption?

I have checked the database spfile parameters but nothing jumps out as the cause of this behavior. Any suggestions on troubleshooting are welcome.

Craig Jackson Received on Mon Jun 12 2006 - 20:01:10 CDT