1.2.8 File Storage Attributes

During file creation, every file in Exascale is associated with file storage attributes, which govern how the file is stored and managed. The attributes are:

• mediaType: Specifies the physical media type used to store the file. Exascale uses this attribute to place the file in a storage pool that utilizes the specified media type. Possible values are:

  • HC: Identifies high capacity storage, using hard disk drives (HDDs) on high-performance Exadata storage servers.

  • EF: Identifies extreme flash storage, using low-latency, high-throughput flash devices.

• redundancy: Specifies the number of data copies that are maintained. Currently, the only permitted value is:

  • high: Indicates three mirrored copies of the file data.

• contentType: Specifies the type of content in the file. Exascale internally uses this attribute to place file extents on physically separate devices in a manner that maximizes availability in the event of a failure. Possible values are:

  • DATA: Principally associated with user data.

  • RECO: Primarily for data used in backup and recovery operations.

File storage attributes are assigned to all files when they are created. Typically, the file storage attributes are implicitly assigned using templates, which assign attribute settings based on the file type. File storage attributes can be assigned explicitly when a file is created by using the ESCLI mkfile command.

You cannot change the file storage attributes after the file is created.