Oracle Flexible Architecture Tablespaces

Oracle Flexible Architecture (OFA), created by Cary Milsap in 1991, describes an standard organizational structure for Oracle databases that, if properly employed, will help improve the performance of Oracle databases.

The Optimal Flexible Architecture generates some common sense rules for tablespace creation. Those rules are:

1. Segment types that are used the same way should be stored together.
2. The system should be designed for its most common usage:
3. Separate areas should exist for exceptions
4. Contention amoung tablespaces should be minimized.
5. The data dictionary should be isolated

Each tablespace below, optimally, should be on separate disks on separate controllers. This probably won't ever happen in the real world. When combining tablespaces on to the same disk, review the Physical layout goals. The Oracle 8i: DBA Handbook goes into some excruciating depth on how to separate and combine these various tablespaces.