We're running out of datafile tablespace on our Oracle and we need to add an additional datafile. Our Oracle guru just left so I'm stepping in. My experience is with SQL server though. It appears to be as simple as adding a new datafile and setting the amount of space and physical location.

Are there any additional steps that I might be overlooking? Thanks.

That's pretty much all that you need to do. Which version of Oracle? Are you using the Oracle Enterprise Manager console? If so, it is very easy. Just open the database/storage/tablespace area, doubleclick on the tablespace that you need an extra file added to, then just enter the new filename in the line below the one that is there, give it the size, and change the location if needed. It will show the SQL that will be executed and will create the file for you.

Thanks. That's what I thought the steps would be and tested them in TEST. I just want to make sure I'm not missing any steps, and it sounds like I'm not.

Not sure if this is true on the Unix side, due to a possible file size limit in different flavors and versions, but on Windows you can just keep increasing the size of the original file instead of adding additional files. This is what I have always done so far. My tablespace files are in the 20-25 gig size at the moment. If your system can handle LARGE files, then you can just increase the file size in the OEM console instead of adding a new file.

Unlike in SQL Server, I believe that in Oracle, when you create a new table you have to also include a parameter on extends. That's the parameter for describing how many new blocks to include all at one time when the file size must be increased. Lawson has some information on how to do this in their DBA manual on setting up Lawson to run on Oracle. Look for it at Lawson support.