Oracle Database Limits for 11g
Datatype Limits
Datatypes
Limit
Comments
BFILE
Maximum size: 4 GB
Maximum size of a file name: 255
characters
Maximum size of a directory
name: 30 characters
Maximum number of open
BFILEs: see Comments
The maximum number of BFILEs is limited by the
value of
theSESSION_MAX_OPEN_FILES initialization
parameter, which is itself limited by the maximum
number of open files the operating system will allow.
BLOB
Maximum size: (4 GB - 1)
* DB_BLOCK_SIZEinitialization
parameter (8 TB to 128 TB)
The number of LOB columns per table is limited only
by the maximum number of columns per table (that
is, 1000Foot 1 ).
CHAR
Maximum size: 2000 bytes
None
CHAR
VARYING
Maximum size: 4000 bytes
None
CLOB
Maximum size: (4 GB - 1)
* DB_BLOCK_SIZEinitialization
parameter (8 TB to 128 TB)
The number of LOB columns per table is limited only
by the maximum number of columns per table (that
is, 1000Footref 1).
Literals
Maximum size: 4000 characters
(characters or
numbers in
SQL or
PL/SQL)
None
LONG
Maximum size: 2 GB - 1
Only one LONG column is allowed per table.
NCHAR
Maximum size: 2000 bytes
None
NCHAR
VARYING
Maximum size: 4000 bytes
None
NCLOB
Maximum size: (4 GB - 1)
* DB_BLOCK_SIZEinitialization
parameter (8 TB to 128 TB)
The number of LOB columns per table is limited only
by the maximum number of columns per table (that
is, 1000Footref 1).
NUMBER
999...(38 9's) x10125 maximum
value
-999...(38 9's) x10125 minimum
value
Can be represented to full 38-digit precision (the
mantissa)
Can be represented to full 38-digit precision (the
mantissa)
Precision
38 significant digits
None
RAW
Maximum size: 2000 bytes
None
VARCHAR
Maximum size: 4000 bytes
None
VARCHAR2
Maximum size: 4000 bytes
None
Footnote 1
The absolute maximum number of columns in a table is 1000. However, when you create an
object table (or a relational table with columns of object, nested table, varray, or REF type), Oracle
maps the columns of the user-defined types to relational columns, creating in effect hidden columns
that count toward the 1000-column limit. For details on how Oracle calculates the total number of
columns in such a table
Physical Database Limits
Item
Type of Limit
Limit Value
Database Block
Size
Minimum
2048 bytes; must be a multiple of operating system physical
block size
Database Block
Size
Maximum
Operating system dependent; never more than 32 KB
Database Blocks Minimum in
2 blocks
initial extent of a
segment
Database Blocks Maximum per
datafile
Platform dependent; typically 222 - 1 blocks
Controlfiles
Number of
control files
1 minimum; 2 or more (on separate devices) strongly
recommended
Controlfiles
Size of a control Dependent on operating system and database creation options;
file
maximum of20,000 x (database block size)
Database files
Maximum per
tablespace
Operating system dependent; usually 1022
Database files
Maximum per
database
65533
May be less on some operating systems
Limited also by size of database blocks and by
the DB_FILES initialization parameter for a particular instance
Database extents Maximum per
dictionary
managed
tablespace
4 GB * physical block size (with K/M modifier); 4 GB (without K/M
modifier)
Database extents Maximum per
2 GB * physical block size (with K/M modifier); 2 GB (without K/M
locally managed modifier)
(uniform)
tablespace
Database file size Maximum
Operating system dependent. Limited by maximum operating
system file size; typically 222 or 4 MB blocks
MAXEXTENTS
Default value
Derived from tablespace default storage
or DB_BLOCK_SIZE initialization parameter
MAXEXTENTS
Maximum
Unlimited
Redo Log Files
Maximum
number of
logfiles
Limited by value of MAXLOGFILES parameter in the CREATE
DATABASEstatement
Control file can be resized to allow more entries; ultimately an
operating system limit
Redo Log Files
Maximum
number of
logfiles per
group
Unlimited
Redo Log File
Size
Minimum size
4 MB
Item
Type of Limit
Limit Value
Redo Log File
Size
Maximum Size
Operating system limit; typically 2 GB
Tablespaces
Maximum
number per
database
64 K
Number of tablespaces cannot exceed the number of database
files because each tablespace must include at least one file
Bigfile
Tablespaces
Number of
blocks
A bigfile tablespace contains only one datafile or tempfile, which
can contain up to approximately 4 billion ( 232 ) blocks. The
maximum size of the single datafile or tempfile is 128 terabytes
(TB) for a tablespace with 32 K blocks and 32 TB for a
tablespace with 8 K blocks.
Smallfile
(traditional)
Tablespaces
Number of
blocks
A smallfile tablespace is a traditional Oracle tablespace, which
can contain 1022 datafiles or tempfiles, each of which can
contain up to approximately 4 million (222) blocks.
External Tables
file
Maximum size
Dependent on the operating system.
An external table can be composed of multiple files.
Logical Database Limits
Item
Type of Limit
Limit Value
GROUP
BY clause
Maximum length
The GROUP BY expression and all of the nondistinct
aggregate functions (for example, SUM, AVG) must fit within
a single database block.
Indexes
Maximum per table
Unlimited
Indexes
Total size of indexed
column
75% of the database block size minus some overhead
Columns
Per table
1000 columns maximum
Columns
Per index (or clustered
index)
32 columns maximum
Columns
Per bitmapped index
30 columns maximum
Constraints
Maximum per column
Unlimited
Subqueries
Maximum levels of
subqueries in a SQL
statement
Unlimited in the FROM clause of the top-level query
255 subqueries in the WHERE clause
Partitions
Maximum length of
linear partitioning key
4 KB - overhead
Partitions
Maximum number of
columns in partition key
16 columns
Partitions
Maximum number of
partitions allowed per
table or index
1024K - 1
Rows
Maximum number per
table
Unlimited
Stored
Packages
Maximum size
PL/SQL and Developer/2000 may have limits on the size of
stored procedures they can call. The limits typically range
Item
Type of Limit
Limit Value
from 2000 to 3000lines of code.
See Also: Your PL/SQL or Developer/2000 documentation
for details
Trigger
Maximum value
Cascade Limit
Operating system-dependent, typically 32
Users and
Roles
Maximum
2,147,483,638
Tables
Maximum per clustered
table
32 tables
Tables
Maximum per database
Unlimited
Process and Runtime Limits
Item
Type of Limit
Limit Value
Instances per
database
Maximum number of
cluster database
instances per
database
Operating system-dependent
Locks
Row-level
Unlimited
Locks
Distributed Lock
Manager
Operating system dependent
SGA size
Maximum value
Operating system-dependent; typically 2 to 4 GB for 32-bit
operating systems, and > 4 GB for 64-bit operating systems
Advanced
Queuing
Processes
Maximum per
instance
10
Job Queue
Processes
Maximum per
instance
1000
I/O Slave
Processes
Maximum per
15
background process
(DBWR, LGWR, etc.)
I/O Slave
Processes
Maximum per Backup 15
session
Sessions
Maximum per
instance
32 KB; limited by
the PROCESSES and SESSIONS initialization parameters
Global Cache
Service
Processes
Maximum per
instance
10
Shared Servers Maximum per
instance
Unlimited within constraints set by
the PROCESSES and SESSIONSinitialization parameters,
for instance
Dispatchers
Unlimited within constraints set
by PROCESSES and SESSIONSinitialization parameters, for
instance
Maximum per
instance
Item
Type of Limit
Limit Value
Parallel
Execution
Slaves
Maximum per
instance
Unlimited within constraints set
by PROCESSES and SESSIONSinitialization parameters, for
instance
Backup
Sessions
Maximum per
instance
Unlimited within constraints set
by PROCESSES and SESSIONSinitialization parameters, for
instance
