The data volumes of a database form the data area, which is the permanent storage of the database. The database stores the following in the data area:
Application data
Database catalog
The converter that was saved at the last savepoint
Undo log files
Sequences
Restart information
To improve the performance of large databases, configure data volumes on different hard drives. The general database parameter MaxDataVolumes specifies the maximum number of data volumes that you can define for your database (see Database Administration, General Database Parameters).
How Does the System Write Data to the Data Area?
The database system uses internal striping to distribute the data belonging to a table evenly across the data volumes in the data area. For more information about volumes, see Volumes (Permanent Storage).
Size of the Data Area
The size of the data area must be at least 2,000 pages. Make sure that there is always enough space in the data area to hold all the data that is created during database operations.
You can configure your database in such a way that the system automatically adds new data volumes when the fill level of the data area exceeds a specified limit, and removes data volumes when the fill level falls below a specified limit.
For more information, see
Database Studio, Activating or Deactivating the Dynamic Adjustment of the Data Area
Database Manager CLI, auto_extend, auto_shrink