Organize Oracle software binaries using the Optimal Flexible Architecture configuration guidelines.

Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) is a set of configuration guidelines for efficient and reliable Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure deployments. Oracle recommends that you deploy all Oracle software installations in accordance with the OFA architecture standard for Oracle Database installations. Following the OFA standard helps to ensure that your installations are easier for you to maintain, and easier for you to obtain rapid assistance from Oracle Support.

OFA provides the following benefits:

• Organizes large amounts of complicated software and data on disk, which can help to avoid device bottlenecks and poor performance

• Facilitates routine administrative tasks, such as software and data backup functions, which are often vulnerable to data corruption

• Simplifies the administration of multiple Oracle databases

• Helps eliminate fragmentation of free space in the data dictionary, isolates other fragmentation, and helps to minimize resource contention

• Assists database administrators to deploy an effective enterprise data management strategy

If you are not currently using the OFA standard, then switching to the OFA standard involves modifying your directory structure and relocating your database files.

For more information about OFA, refer to your operating system-specific Oracle documentation. For more information about managing data files and temp files, refer to Oracle Database Administrator’s Guide.

Oracle Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) rules help you to organize database software and configure databases to allow multiple databases, of different versions, owned by different users to coexist.

In earlier Oracle Database releases, the OFA rules provided optimal system performance by isolating fragmentation and minimizing contention. In current releases, OFA rules provide consistency in database management and support, and simplifies expanding or adding databases, or adding additional hardware.

By default, Oracle Universal Installer places Oracle Database components in directory locations and with permissions in compliance with OFA rules. Oracle recommends that you configure all Oracle components in accordance with OFA guidelines.

Oracle recommends that you accept the OFA default. Following OFA rules is especially of value if the database is large, or if you plan to have multiple databases.

Oracle Database supports multiple Oracle homes. You can install this release or earlier releases of the software more than once on the same system, in different Oracle home directories.