ORACLE TABLESPACES

A Resource Guide

JUNE 15, 2016

TECHGOEASY.COM

Oracle TABLESPACE

WHAT IS ORACLE TABLESPACE?

It is logical storage unit in Oracle Database. Tablespace consists of one or
more datafiles.
Tablespace is further divided in to logical units Segments, Segment is
divided in to Extent and Extent in to Block
Various type of Tablespace are BIGFILE, SYSTEM, SYSAUX, and UNDO
BASICS ABOUT SEGMENT/EXTENT/DATA BLOCK
Segment

Extent

Data Block

It is a space allocated for a specific logical structure

(table/index, partition etc.), cannot span tablespaces but it
can span datafiles belonging to tablespace. It is made up of
one or more extents
It is a set of contiguous data blocks, cannot span a datafile
(must exist in only one). When the segment grows more
extents are allocated.
The smallest unit of data in Oracle server, one or more
blocks corresponds to one or more operating system blocks
(should be a multiple of operating system block size), initial
size determined by DB_BLOCK_SIZE parameter in the
parameter file

WHAT IS DATAFILES?
-It is physical structure to store oracle data
-One or more physical datafile are logically grouped together to make a
tablespace
-A Datafile can be associated with only one tablespace

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

Oracle TABLESPACE

CREATE TABLESPACE STATEMENT

The tablespace can be created by the user having sysdba privilege to hold
various tables and index objects.
Complete Syntax for Create table statement

CREATE [TEMPORARY / UNDO] TABLESPACE <tablespace_name>

DATAFILE / TEMPFILE
<integer M>

'<datafile and Path where file to create>' SIZE

BLOCKSIZE <DB_BLOCK_SIZE parameter /2k/4k/8k/16k/32k >

AUTOEXTEND { [OFF/ON (NEXT <integer K/M > MAXSIZE<integer K/M >)
/ UNLIMITED] }
LOGGING/NOLOGGING (LOGGING default)
FORCE LOGGING {ON/OFF(default)}
ONLINE/OFFLINE (Online default)
EXTENT MANAGEMENT { [DICTIONARY] /
[LOCAL Default (AUTOALLOCATE / UNIFORM SIZE <integer
K/M >)] }
AUTO SEGMENT MANAGEMENT { AUTO/MANUAL}
PERMANENT / TEMPORARY (Permanent default)
MINIMUM EXTENT
DEFAULT STORAGE {

[INITIAL <integer K/M >]

[NEXT <integer K/M >]

[PCTINCREASE <integer K/M >]
[MINEXTENTS <integer>]
[MAXEXTENTS <integer> / UNLIMITED]
[FREELISTS <integer>]
[FREELIST GROUPS <integer>]
[OPTIMAL <integer>/NULL]
[BUFFER_POOL < DEFAULT/KEEP/RECYCLE >] }
;

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

Oracle TABLESPACE

VARIOUS OPTION OF CREATE TABLESPACE STATEMENT ARE

EXPLAINED BELOW
UNDO/TEMPORARY Temp or temporary tablespaces are used to store data
with short lifespan (transient data)
Undo tablespaces are used to store "before image" data
that can be used to undo transactions
If nothing is given then it is a default tablespace which
can store normal table/index segments

DATAFILE
SIZE
BLOCKSIZE
LOGGING/NOLOG
GING
FORCE LOGGING
ONLINE/OFFLINE
AUTOEXTEND
TEMPORARY/PERM
ANENT
DEFAULT
STORAGE
MINIMUM EXTENT
EXTENT
MANAGEMENT

Specifies the location and name of datafile

specifies the size of datafile in Kb/Mb
specified the block size for the tablespace
specifies if writing to the redo log is done
If it is On, even no logging operation in any segment in
the tablespace are written to redo
It specifies if tablespace will be placed online after
creation
ON means datafile can be auto extended. Off means no
auto extension
It specifies if tablespace holds permanent or temporary
objects
specifies storage parameters for all segments created in
the dictionary managed tablespace
specifies the minimum size for any extent in the
tablespace
There are 2 types of space management
LOCALLY MANGED Locally managed tablespaces
manage all extent allocations in the datafile header
using a bitmap. The advantages of using locally
managed tablespaces are less space in system
tablespace (extent management not saved in data
dictionary), reduce contention on data dictionary tables,

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

Oracle TABLESPACE

eliminates the need to coalesce free extents, do not

generate redo
DICTIONARY-MANAGED Dictionary managed tablespace
records all extent allocations in the data dictionary
tables.
One can specify the EXTENT MANAGEMENT clause in
the CREATE TABLESPACE command and specify the
management type (DICTIONARY/LOCAL).
If LOCAL option is selected, one can specify the extent
size using UNIFORM SIZE n Kb/Mb clause. The extent
size and allocation table are kept in the datafile header.
Altering storage parameters for locally managed
tablespace is not allowed. In order to change storage
parameters, one needs to create a new tablespace with
new storage parameters and move all segments to
newly created tablespace.

Segment Space
management

Dictionary managed tablespaces record extent

allocation in the data dictionary, each segment created
in the tablespace can have its own storage parameters,
needs to be coalesced
There are two options
Manual
Manual you want to use free lists for managing free
space within segments. Free lists are lists of data blocks
that have space available for inserting rows. This form
of managing space within segments is called manual
segment-space management because of the need to
specify and tune the PCTUSED, FREELISTS, and
FREELISTS GROUPS storage parameters for schema
objects created in the tablespace.
MANUAL is the default.
Auto

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

Oracle TABLESPACE

AUTO enable the use of bitmaps to manage the free

space within segments. A bitmap, in this case, is a map
that describes the status of each data block within a
segment with respect to the amount of space in the
block available for inserting rows. As more or less space
becomes available in a data block, its new state is
reflected in the bitmap. Bitmaps allow Oracle to
manage free space more automatically, and thus, this
form of space management is called automatic
segment-space management
VARIOUS EXAMPLE OF CREATE TABLESPACE STATEMENTS
PERMANENT TABLESPACES
Permanent tablespaces are used to store user data and user created objects
like tables, indexes and materialized views.

Single datafile
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLESPACE EXAMPLE DATAFILE
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/example_1.dbf' SIZE 1000M;
Multiple tempfile
CREATE TABLESPACE EXAMPLE DATAFILE
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/example_1.dbf' SIZE 1000M
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/example_2.dbf' SIZE 1000M
;

TEMP TABLESPACES
Temp or temporary tablespaces are used to store data with short lifespan
(transient data), for example: global temporarily tables or sort results.

Single tempfile
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLESPACE TEMP TEMPFILE
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

Oracle TABLESPACE

'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/temp_1.dbf' SIZE 1000M;

Multiple tempfile
CREATE TABLESPACE TEMP TEMPFILE
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/temp_1.dbf' SIZE 1000M
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/temp_2.dbf' SIZE 1000M
;

UNDO TABLESPACES

Undo tablespaces are used to store "before image" data that can be used to
undo transactions.

Single datafile
CREATE UNDO TABLESPACE UNDO_TBS1 DATAFILE
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/undo_1.dbf' SIZE 1000M;
Multiple datafile
CREATE UNDO TABLESPACE UNDO_TBS1 DATAFILE
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/undo_1.dbf' SIZE 1000M
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/undo_2.dbf' SIZE 1000M
;

OTHER EXAMPLES

Tablespace created with extent management local of uniform size

1M and segment space management auto
CREATE TABLESPACE TEST DATAFILE '/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_1.dbf'
SIZE 1000M
EXTENT MANAGEMENT LOCAL UNIFORM SIZE 1M
SEGMENT SPACE MANAGEMENT AUTO;

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

Oracle TABLESPACE

Tablespace created with extent management local of uniform size

1M and no automatic segment space management
CREATE TABLESPACE TEST DATAFILE '/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_1.dbf'
SIZE 1000MEXTENT MANAGEMENT LOCAL UNIFORM SIZE 1M;

Tablespace created with extent management local of Auto allocate

size and no automatic segment space management
CREATE TABLESPACE TEST DATAFILE '/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_1.dbf'
SIZE 1000M
EXTENT MANAGEMENT LOCAL Autoallocate;

Tablespace created with dictionary extent management

CREATE TABLESPACE TEST DATAFILE '/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_1.dbf'
SIZE 1000M
EXTENT MANAGEMENT dictionary;

Tablespace created with local extent management and OMF with

ASM storage
CREATE TABLESPACE TEST DATAFILE '+DATA

SIZE 1000M

EXTENT MANAGEMENT local;

File name is automatically managed by Oracle
VARIOUS TABLESPACE ALTERATION OPTIONS:

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

Oracle TABLESPACE

HOW TO ADD DATAFILE IN A TABLESPACE

we can use ALTER TABLESPACE to add datafile in tablespace like

Default Tablespace
Syntax
ALTER TABLESPACE <tablespace_name> ADD DATAFILE
<location_of_datafile>;
Example
ALTER TABLESPACE TEST ADD DATAFILE
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf' SIZE 1000M
TEMP table space
Syntax
ALTER TABLESPACE <tablespace_name> ADD TEMPFILE
<location_of_tempfile> SIZE <size>;
Example
ALTER TABLESPACE TEMP ADD TEMPFILE
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/temp_4.dbf' SIZE 1000M

HOW TO MODIFY THE EXISTING DATAFILE AUTO EXTEND

CHARACTERISTICS IN A TABLESPACE
you can modify datafile auto extend

using alter database datafile option

Syntax
ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE <location_of_datafile> AUTOEXTEND ON|OFF
NEXT <size> MAXSIZE <size>;
Example
ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE /u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf
AUTOEXTEND ON NEXT 50M MAXSIZE 2400M;

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

Oracle TABLESPACE

HOW TO ALTER THE TABLESPACE TO OFFLINE

-Taking a tablespace offline/online is done using the ALTER TABLESPACE

'name' OFFLINE/ONLINE clause.
There are several options for taking tablespace offline:
Normal

It flushes all data blocks that belong to the tablespace

from the SGA

Temporary

It performs checkpoint for the selected tablespace only

Immediate

It does not perform checkpoint or flush data blocks

requires media recovery

For recover

It is used for tablespace point in time recovery (TSPITR)

HOW TO ALTER THE TABLESPACE TO READ-ONLY

It allows read only operations on tablespace (no DML), objects can be

dropped from the tablespace

Syntax
ALTER TABELSPACE 'name' READ ONLY;
Example
ALTER TABELSPACE TEST READ ONLY;

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

10

Oracle TABLESPACE

HOW TO DROP THE TABLESPACE

Dropping the tablespace means tablespace is removed from data dictionary,

contents are removed from data dictionary (optional), and datafiles are
deleted (optional),

When the tablespace does not have any contents

Syntax
DROP TABELSPACE 'name';
Example
DROP TABELSPACE 'TEST';
When the tablespace has any contents

Syntax
DROP TABELSPACE 'name' INCLUDING CONTENTS;
Example
DROP TABELSPACE 'TEST' INCLUDING CONTENTS;
When the tablespace has any contents and datafiles from OS also
need to deleted
Syntax
DROP TABELSPACE 'name' INCLUDING CONTENTS and DATAFILES;
Example
DROP TABELSPACE 'TEST' INCLUDING CONTENTS and DATAFILES;

HOW TO INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE TABLESPACE

The increase can be done automatically or manually.

Automatically using the AUTOEXTEND ON MAXSIZE n Kb/Mb clause.

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

11

Oracle TABLESPACE

Syntax
ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE <location_of_datafile> AUTOEXTEND ON|OFF
NEXT <size> MAXSIZE <size>;
Example
ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE /u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf
AUTOEXTEND ON NEXT 50M MAXSIZE 2400M;

Manually ALTER TABLESPACE 'name' ADD DATAFILE 'name' clause or

ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE DATAFILE NAME resize <bigger size>;
Syntax
ALTER TABLESPACE <tablespace_name> ADD DATAFILE
<location_of_datafile>;
Example
ALTER TABLESPACE TEST ADD DATAFILE
'/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf' SIZE 1000M
ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE '/u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf' RESIZE
2000M;

HOW TO MOVE TABLESPACE/DATAFILE TO ANOTHER LOCATION

In case of single or multiple datafile move in a tablespace, steps are

1) Bring the tablespace offline
2) Move all the datafiles using OS utility
3) Rename the datafile using alter tablespace command
ALTER TABLESPACE 'name' RENAME 'file_name' TO 'file_name'
4) Bring the tablespace online

Alter tablespace TEST offline;

mv /u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

12

Oracle TABLESPACE

/u02/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf
ALTER TABLESPACE 'TEST' RENAME /u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf '
TO /u02/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf ;
Alter tablespace TEST online;
In case of multiple datafile of different tablespace, if we dont want to bring
all tablespace to offline, we can use the alter datafile command are
1) Bring the datafile offline (This is valid if the database is in archive log
mode else we need to start the database in mount state)
2) Move all the datafiles using OS utility
3) Rename the datafile using alter database command
4) Alter datafile RENAME DATAFILE 'file_name' TO 'file_name;
5) Recover the datafile and bring it online

Alter database datafile /u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf

offline;

mv /u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf
/u02/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf
ALTER database datafile RENAME /u01/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf ' TO
/u02/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf ;
Recover datafile /u02/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf ;
Alter database datafile /u02/oracle/TEST/oradata/test_4.dbf

online;

HOW TO SHRINK THE DATAFILE

We sometimes have shrink the datafile to reclaim filesystem space.

We can do it like

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

13

Oracle TABLESPACE

Alter database datafile <datafile name > resize <smaller size>;

Many times we may get the below error as the extent may spread out on the
outer of the file
ORA-03297: FILE CONTAINS USED DATA BEYOND REQUESTED RESIZE
VALUE.

To resolve the error, we can find the true resize value for all the datafiles in
the tablespace by the below procedure
Script is meant for Oracle version 9 and higher
set serveroutput on
exec dbms_output.enable(1000000);
declare
cursor c_dbfile is
select f.tablespace_name,f.file_name,f.file_id,f.blocks,t.block_size
,decode(t.allocation_type,'UNIFORM',t.initial_extent/t.block_size,0)
uni_extent
,decode(t.allocation_type,'UNIFORM',(128+(t.initial_extent/t.block_size)),12
8) file_min_size
from dba_data_files f,
dba_tablespaces t
where f.tablespace_name = t.tablespace_name
and t.tablespace_name='APPS_TS_TX_DATA_10MB'
order by f.tablespace_name,f.file_id;
cursor c_freespace(v_file_id in number) is
select block_id, block_id+blocks max_block
from dba_free_space
where file_id = v_file_id
order by block_id desc;

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

14

Oracle TABLESPACE

dummy number;
checkval varchar2(10);
block_correction number;
file_min_block number;
recycle_bin boolean:=false;
extent_in_recycle_bin boolean;
sqlstr varchar2(100);
table_does_not_exist exception;
pragma exception_init(table_does_not_exist,-942);
space_wastage number;
begin
begin
select value into checkval from v$parameter where name = 'recyclebin';
if checkval = 'on'
then
recycle_bin := true;
end if;
exception
when no_data_found
then
recycle_bin := false;
end;
for c_file in c_dbfile
loop
/* initialization of loop variables */
dummy :=0;
extent_in_recycle_bin := false;
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

15

Oracle TABLESPACE

file_min_block := c_file.blocks;
begin
space_wastage:=0; /* reset for every file check */

for c_free in c_freespace(c_file.file_id)

loop
/* if blocks is an uneven value there is a need to correct
with -1 to compare with end-of-file which is even */
block_correction := (0-mod(c_free.max_block,2));
if file_min_block = c_free.max_block+block_correction
then
/* free extent is at end so file can be resized */
file_min_block := c_free.block_id;
/* Uniform sized tablespace check if space at end of file
is less then uniform extent size */
elsif (c_file.uni_extent !=0) and ((c_file.blocks - c_free.max_block) <
c_file.uni_extent)
then
/* uniform tablespace which has a wastage of space in datafile
due to fact that space at end of file is smaller than uniform extent size */
space_wastage:=c_file.blocks - c_free.max_block;
file_min_block := c_free.block_id;
else
/* no more free extent at end of file, file cannot be further resized */
exit check_free;
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

16

Oracle TABLESPACE

end if;
end loop;
end;
/* check if file can be resized, minimal size of file 128 {+ initial_extent}
blocks */
if (file_min_block = c_file.blocks) or (c_file.blocks <= c_file.file_min_size)
then
dbms_output.put_line('Tablespace: '||c_file.tablespace_name||' Datafile:
'||c_file.file_name);
dbms_output.put_line('cannot be resized no free extents found');
dbms_output.put_line('.');
else
/* file needs minimal no of blocks which does vary over versions,
using safe value of 128 {+ initial_extent} */
if file_min_block < c_file.file_min_size
then
file_min_block := c_file.file_min_size;
end if;

dbms_output.put_line('Tablespace: '||c_file.tablespace_name||' Datafile:

'||c_file.file_name);
dbms_output.put_line('current size:
'||(c_file.blocks*c_file.block_size)/1024||'K'||' can be resized to:
'||round((file_min_block*c_file.block_size)/1024)||'K (reduction of:
'||round(((c_file.blocks-file_min_block)/c_file.blocks)*100,2)||' %)');

/* below is only true if recyclebin is on */

if recycle_bin
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

17

Oracle TABLESPACE

then
begin
sqlstr:='select distinct 1 from recyclebin$ where file#='||c_file.file_id;
execute immediate sqlstr into dummy;
if dummy > 0
then
dbms_output.put_line('Extents found in recyclebin for above
file/tablespace');
dbms_output.put_line('Implying that purge of recyclebin might be needed in
order to resize');
dbms_output.put_line('SQL> purge tablespace
'||c_file.tablespace_name||';');
end if;
exception
when no_data_found
then null;
when table_does_not_exist
then null;
end;
end if;
dbms_output.put_line('SQL> alter database datafile '''||c_file.file_name||'''
resize '||round((file_min_block*c_file.block_size)/1024)||'K;');
if space_wastage!=0
then
dbms_output.put_line('Datafile belongs to uniform sized tablespace and is
not optimally sized.');
dbms_output.put_line('Size of datafile is not a multiple of
NN*uniform_extent_size + overhead');
dbms_output.put_line('Space that cannot be used (space wastage):
'||round((space_wastage*c_file.block_size)/1024)||'K');
dbms_output.put_line('For optimal usage of space in file either resize OR
increase to: '||round(((c_file.blocks+(c_file.uni_extentThis material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

18

Oracle TABLESPACE

space_wastage))*c_file.block_size)/1024)||'K');
end if;
dbms_output.put_line('.');
end if;
end loop;
end;
/

Script is meant for Oracle version 8 and lower

set serveroutput on
exec dbms_output.enable(1000000);
declare
cursor c_dbfile is
select f.tablespace_name,f.file_name,f.file_id,f.blocks
from dba_data_files f,
dba_tablespaces t
where f.tablespace_name = t.tablespace_name
and t.status = 'ONLINE'
order by f.tablespace_name,f.file_id;
cursor c_freespace(v_file_id in number) is
select block_id, block_id+blocks max_block
from dba_free_space
where file_id = v_file_id
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

19

Oracle TABLESPACE

order by block_id desc;

/* variables to check settings/values */
block_correction number;
block_size number;
/* running variable to show (possible) end-of-file */
file_min_block number;
begin
select value into block_size from v$parameter where name='db_block_size';
/* main loop */
for c_file in c_dbfile
loop
/* initialization of loop variables */
file_min_block := c_file.blocks;
begin
<<check_free
for c_free in c_freespace(c_file.file_id)
loop
/* if blocks is an uneven value there is a need to correct with -1 to compare
with end-of-file which is even */
block_correction := (0-mod(c_free.max_block,2));
if file_min_block = c_free.max_block+block_correction
then
/* free extent is at end so file can be resized */
file_min_block := c_free.block_id;
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

20

Oracle TABLESPACE

else
/* no more free extent at end of file, file cannot be further resized */
exit check_free;
end if;
end loop;
end;
/* check if file can be resized, minimal size of file 16 blocks */
if (file_min_block = c_file.blocks) or (c_file.blocks <= 16)
then
dbms_output.put_line('Tablespace: '||c_file.tablespace_name||' Datafile:
'||c_file.file_name);
dbms_output.put_line('cannot be resized no free extents found');
dbms_output.put_line('.');
else
/* file needs minimal no of blocks which does vary over versions */
if file_min_block < 16
then
file_min_block := 16;
end if;
dbms_output.put_line('Tablespace: '||c_file.tablespace_name||' Datafile:
'||c_file.file_name);
dbms_output.put_line('current size: '||(c_file.blocks*block_size)/1024||'K'||'
can be resized to: '||round((file_min_block*block_size)/1024)||'K (reduction
of: '||round(((c_file.blocks-file_min_block)/c_file.blocks)*100,2)||' %)');
dbms_output.put_line('SQL> alter database datafile '''||c_file.file_name||'''
resize '||round((file_min_block*block_size)/1024)||'K;');
dbms_output.put_line('.');

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

21

Oracle TABLESPACE

end if;
end loop;
end;
/

HOW TO DROP A DATAFILE FROM TABLESPACE

Sometimes we need to drop the datafile from the tablespace. We have

different procedure as per Oracle release
Procedure to drop the datafile till 10gR2
There is no direct SQL statement to drop datafiles from a tablespace. In that
case we need to drop the tablespace after all data has been moved to a new
tablespace.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Create a new tablespace to hold moved objects.

Move all tables to the new tablespace.
Move all indexes to the new tablespace.
Move all other segments to the new tablespace.
Drop the old tablespace using the INCLUDING CONTENTS and datafiles
option.

Procedure to drop the datafile till 10gR2

With 10gR2, we can directly drop the datafile from tablespace with some
restriction
1) The database must be open.
2) If a datafile is not empty, it cannot be dropped. If you must remove a
datafile that is not empty and that cannot be made empty by dropping
schema objects, you must drop the tablespace that contains the datafile.
3)You cannot drop the first or only datafile in a tablespace. This means that
DROP DATAFILE cannot be used with a bigfile tablespace.
4) You cannot drop datafiles in a read-only tablespace.
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

22

Oracle TABLESPACE

5)You cannot drop datafiles in the SYSTEM tablespace.

6)If a datafile in a locally managed tablespace is offline, it cannot be
dropped.
Syntax
ALTER TABLESPACE DROP DATAFILE | TEMPFILE command:
ALTER TABLESPACE example DROP DATAFILE '+DATA/example_3.f';
ALTER TABLESPACE TEMO DROP TEMPFILE '/+DATA/temp2.dbf';

HOW TO OFFLINE DROP THE DATAFILE

Sometimes a datafile get missing, you get issue opening up the datafile.
Then you can use offline drop to the control file from checking it

alter database datafile '/u01/oracle/oradata/ex_01.dbf' offline drop;

The file can still be restored and recovered and back in operation.
Or if dont have any backup, then if it is index datafile, then we can recreate
all index again. If it is having table segment, we can drop the segment and
recreate that table from data from some test database

HOW TO CREATE DATAFILE/TABLESPACE USING OMF

OMF stands for Oracle managed file. It has following features

a) Database files are easily distinguishable from all other files.

b) Files of one database type are easily distinguishable from other database
types.
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

23

Oracle TABLESPACE

c) Files are clearly associated with important attributes specific to the file
type. For example, a datafile name may include the tablespace name to
allow for easy association of datafile to tablespace, or an archived log name
may include the thread, sequence, and creation date.
We need to set DB_CREATE_FILE_DEST parameter in the database. Once it
is set datafiles are created using OMF
Structure of OMF
<DB_CREATE_FILE_DEST>/<db_unique_name>/<datafile>/o1_mf_%t_%u
_.dbf

Tablespace /datafile creation using OMF

CREATE TABLESPACE TEST size 800M;
Alter tablespace add datafile size 800M

HOW TO ASSIGN TABLESPACES TO USERS?

Users cannot create objects in a tablespace (even it's their default
tablespace) unless they have a quota on it (or UNLIMITED TABLESPACE
privilege).
Grant user PER access to use all space in the APPS_TX tablespace:
ALTER USER PER QUOTA UNLIMITED ON APPS_TX;
DICTIONARY VIEWS FOR VIEWING TABLESPACE INFORMATION

View

Description

V$TABLESPACE

Name and number of all tablespaces from

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

24

Oracle TABLESPACE

DBA_TABLESPACES,
USER_TABLESPACES
DBA_SEGMENTS,
USER_SEGMENTS
DBA_EXTENTS,
USER_EXTENTS
DBA_FREE_SPACE,
USER_FREE_SPACE
V$DATAFILE
V$TEMPFILE
DBA_DATA_FILES
DBA_TEMP_FILES
V$TEMP_EXTENT_MAP
V$TEMP_EXTENT_POOL

V$TEMP_SPACE_HEADER
DBA_USERS
DBA_TS_QUOTAS
V$SORT_SEGMENT

V$SORT_USER

the control file.

Descriptions of all (or user accessible)
tablespaces.
Information about segments within all (or
user accessible) tablespaces.
Information about data extents within all
(or user accessible) tablespaces.
Information about free extents within all
(or user accessible) tablespaces.
Information about all datafiles, including
tablespace number of owning tablespace.
Information about all tempfiles, including
tablespace number of owning tablespace.
Shows files (datafiles) belonging to
tablespaces.
Shows files (tempfiles) belonging to
temporary tablespaces.
Information for all extents in all locally
managed temporary tablespaces.
For locally managed temporary
tablespaces: the state of temporary space
cached and used for by each instance.
Shows space used/free for each tempfile.
Default and temporary tablespaces for all
users.
Lists tablespace quotas for all users.
Information about every sort segment in a
given instance. The view is only updated
when the tablespace is of the TEMPORARY
type.
Temporary sort space usage by user and
temporary/permanent tablespace.

TO LIST TABLESPACES AND ALL IMPORTANT PROPERTIES:

To list the names and various other of all tablespaces in a database, use the
following query on the DBA_TABLESPACES view:
SELECT TABLESPACE_NAME "TABLESPACE",
EXTENT_MANAGEMENT, FORCE_LOGGING, BLOCK_SIZE,
SEGMENT_SPACE_MANAGEMNENT
FROM DBA_TABLESPACES;
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

25

Oracle TABLESPACE

TO LIST THE DATAFILES AND ASSOCIATED TABLESPACES OF A

DATABASE
To list the names, sizes, and associated tablespaces of a database, enter the
following query on the DBA_DATA_FILES view

SELECT FILE_NAME, BLOCKS, TABLESPACE_NAME

FROM DBA_DATA_FILES;

TO DISPLAY STATISTICS FOR FREE SPACE (EXTENTS) OF EACH

TABLESPACE
To produce statistics about free extents and coalescing activity for each
tablespace in the database, enter the following query:

SELECT TABLESPACE_NAME "TABLESPACE", FILE_ID,

COUNT(*)

"PIECES",

MAX(blocks) "MAXIMUM",
MIN(blocks) "MINIMUM",
AVG(blocks) "AVERAGE",
SUM(blocks) "TOTAL"
FROM DBA_FREE_SPACE
GROUP BY TABLESPACE_NAME, FILE_ID;

HOW TO CHECK HIGHEST ALLOCATED EXTENT?

column file_name format a50;

column tablespace_name format a15;
column highwater format 9999999999;
This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

26

Oracle TABLESPACE

set pagesize 9999

select a.tablespace_name
,a.file_name
,(b.maximum+c.blocks-1)*d.db_block_size highwater
from dba_data_files a
,(select file_id,max(block_id) maximum
from dba_extents
group by file_id) b
,dba_extents c
,(select value db_block_size
from v$parameter
where name='db_block_size') d
where a.file_id = b.file_id
and c.file_id = b.file_id
and c.block_id = b.maximum
order by a.tablespace_name,a.file_name
/

To check the free SPACE, largest free chunck and no of free chunck
in tablespace .

set feedback off

set echo off
set numwidth 15
set linesize 150
set pages 1000
Accept tname Prompt "Enter Tablespace Name : "
Select (Sum(bytes)/1024/1024) Free_space_MB,(max(bytes)/1024/1024)
Largest_Free_chunck_MB,count(*) No_of_free_chunk

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

27

Oracle TABLESPACE

from dba_free_space where tablespace_name=upper('&tname');

TO CHECK THE TOTAL SPACE ALLOCATED TO TABLESPACE.

Select (sum(bytes)/1024/1024) Space_allocated

from dba_data_files
where tablespace_name=upper('&tname');

TO CHECK ALL TABLESPACE INFORMATION IN THE DATABASE

set echo off feedback off verify off pages 60

col tablespace_name format a16 head 'Tablespace Name'
col initial_extent format 99,999,999 head 'Initial|Extent(K)'
col next_extent format 99,999,999 head 'Next|Extent(K)'
--col min_extents format 999 head 'Min|Ext'
col max_extents format a4 head 'Max|Ext'
col pct_increase format 999 head 'Pct|Inc'
col extent_management format a10 head 'Extent|Management'
col allocation_type format a10 head 'Allocation|Type'
col status format a7 head 'Status'
select tbs.tablespace_name
,

tbs.initial_extent

tbs.next_extent

--,

tbs.min_extents

,
decode(tbs.max_extents,2147483645,'UL',tbs.max_extents)
max_extents
,

tbs.pct_increase

tbs.extent_management

tbs.allocation_type

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.

28

Oracle TABLESPACE

tbs.status

from dba_tablespaces tbs

order by 1
/

This material is created by http://techgoeasy.com/ and is for your personal and non-commercial use only.