New Path (SAP Library - Database Administration (Oracle) with SAPDBA)

New Path

You can enter a different directory path for the new data file if the standard directory does not have enough storage space for the file. You can create the file in a file system that has sufficient space.

To operate your database in a safer, more efficient manner, SAP recommends specifying a new path in certain cases. These files can be on the same hard disk as the redo log files if the redo log files are mirrored. However, SAP recommends for performance reasons that data files and redo log files always be stored on different hard disks.

See Organizing Disk Storage.

SAPDBA does not allow you to change the name of the data file. You can, however, change the directory path as follows:

Other sapdata directory: You can create the file in a different standard directory, sapdata<n> . The directory must already exist and should be stored in a file system others than the one suggested by SAPDBA. Use Select path to select the directory.

SAPDBA creates the new data file in the directory that you entered. It does not create a symbolic link from the directory it recommended.

Please note that specifying a different directory may result in competing I/O accesses, which can diminish the performance of your system.

Non-standard path: You can create the file under a path which does not correspond to the SAP standard.

Example: You have set up and mounted a disk for data files. New files must therefore be added under path /usr/newdisk and not under the standard path.

SAPDBA performs the following tasks:

It creates a subdirectory <tablespace name>_<file number> in the new directory /usr/newdisk , which you specified.

It creates a symbolic link between the SAPDBA default directory (e.g. /oracle/C11/sapdata2/<tablespace name>_<file number>) and the new subdirectory /usr/newdisk .

It creates a file <tablespace name>.data<file number> in the new subdirectory.

The symbolic link is transparent in the Data Dictionary of the database. The Data Dictionary recognizes only that the file exists in the standard SAP directory.

See Naming Convention.

Raw device: SAPDBA behaves as described in the section Non-standard path. The symbolic link is set from <ORACLE_HOME>/sapraw to the corresponding raw device. The file <tablespace-name>.data<file number> does not have to be created. See also SAPDBA Support for Raw Device Configuration.