Database objects, such as tables and indexes, are stored as segments in tablespaces. Each segment contains one or more extents. An extent consists of contiguous data blocks, which means that each extent can exist only in one data file. Data blocks are the smallest unit of I/O in the database.
When the database requests a set of data blocks from the operating system (OS), the OS maps this to an actual file system or disk block on the storage device. Because of this, you need not know the physical address of any of the data in your database. This also means that a data file can be striped or mirrored on several disks.
The size of the data block can be set at the time of the creation of the database. The default size of 8 KB is adequate for most databases. If your database supports a data warehouse application that has large tables and indexes, then a larger block size may be beneficial.
If your database supports a transactional application where reads and writes are random, then specifying a smaller block size may be beneficial. The maximum block size depends on your OS. The minimum Oracle block size is 2 KB and should rarely (if ever) be used.
You can have tablespaces with different block sizes. However, this should be used only for transportable tablespaces. For details, see the Database Administrator’s Guide.
When the database requests a set of data blocks from the operating system (OS), the OS maps this to an actual file system or disk block on the storage device. Because of this, you need not know the physical address of any of the data in your database. This also means that a data file can be striped or mirrored on several disks.
The size of the data block can be set at the time of the creation of the database. The default size of 8 KB is adequate for most databases. If your database supports a data warehouse application that has large tables and indexes, then a larger block size may be beneficial.
If your database supports a transactional application where reads and writes are random, then specifying a smaller block size may be beneficial. The maximum block size depends on your OS. The minimum Oracle block size is 2 KB and should rarely (if ever) be used.
You can have tablespaces with different block sizes. However, this should be used only for transportable tablespaces. For details, see the Database Administrator’s Guide.
