Re: ORACLE AND UNIX QUESTION

In article <36ct0p$jq2_at_dcsun4.us.oracle.com> dhuet_at_DHUET-PC writes:
>
>In article <CwsxDz.4yp_at_aplcenmp.apl.jhu.edu>, <birznie_at_aplcenmp.apl.jhu.edu>
>writes:
>>
>> Question: Is Oracle limited to using Operating system files for its
>> databases on UNIX? Or can you use RAW PARTITIONS to store data on a UNIX
>> Box such as a Sun Sparcstation running Solaris.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Gunther
>>
>
>The answer is yes. You simply substitute the filesystem path/filename with the
>raw device:
>
>CREATE TABLESPACE FOO DATAFILE '/dev/rdsk/foodsk' SIZE 800M;
>
>The trick is to partition your disks correctly for all the files you want.
>

The other trick is to remember that there is nothing preventing someone from creating another unix filesystem right on top of your Oracle files, so be sure you have adequate control over who has the authority to do such things.

Other tidbits that have come out of previous threads:

Quite a variance in observed performance gains, 5% to 300%. I would guess there are people who saw no gain at all, so never said anything. As with any performance tuning with Oracle, it's entirely empirical, and we don't know what, if any, methodologies were used to support these claims.

Some people think that Oracle's filesystem access is superior to unix, and that having to deal with two redundant methods slows down Oracle. I would expect a lot of full table scans of large tables would show the highest gains for Oracle if it is superior. I'm not convinced, personally, but haven't had time to fully research it. If anybody out there has we'd all love to know what you found. In cases where there is only a small percentage improvement, IMO it's not worth the extra management work. Growing systems particularly will be a hassle when the partition turns out to be undersized. Your mileage may vary, don't be afraid to try it.

-- 
Joel Garry           joelga_at_amber.rossinc.com            Compuserve 70661,1534
These are my opinions, not necessarily those of Ross Systems, Inc.
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