Guidelines for Using Locations
After you have set up the underlying area and mapped it to a location by creating a location object, use the new location as summarized below:
• When you create a new database, specify the location for the database’s data dump, checkpoint, journal, and work files.
• Extend a database to include the new location for its data and work files.
• After extending a database to use an alternate location designated for data files, move existing user data files (that is, user tables and indexes, but not the system catalogs) to it, and place new user data files in it. For more information, see the chapter “Managing Tables and Views.”
• The following file types can use only a single location (that is, these file types are not affected when you extend a database):
– Checkpoint files
– Journal files
– Dump files
• The initial location of the following file types is determined when you create a database, but you can move each to a new location (see
Relocate Database Files) if the need arises:
– Checkpoint files
– Journal files
– Dump files
• Store the data, checkpoint, journal, dump, and work files for a database in the same locations or in different locations.
– If the default locations are used when you create the database, all these files are stored in the same area.
– We strongly recommend that you store data files on a different disk from those used to store checkpoints, journals, and dumps. Doing so helps to protect your data in the event of disk failure and to maximize disk drive performance.
The following table summarizes some of these guidelines: