2 gb datafile vs 16 gb datafile

Question

Hi,
We are considering to move one of the databases from 2gb datafiles to 16 gb datafiles like other database.
All the datafiles are on the same location so there is not load balancing.
The size of the tablespaces are from 10gb to 35gb.
What's better few (1-3) 16gb datafiles or many 2gb ones (5 to 20) (read, write, backup, etc, ...) ?
Thanks

Answer 1

A few reasons. First, you don't want to have to deal with thousands of files. If you've got a 3 TB database, you'd need something like 1500 2 GB data files, and no one wants to manage 1500 files. If you've got a 3 TB data warehouse, you may be loading multiple GB of data every day, you don't want to have to create new data files every day for the nightly load. A TB data warehouse will also tend to be quite usable missing a data file, assuming partitioning is set up properly, so you tend to have slightly longer recovery windows. Data warehouses also tend to have much better backup systems whereas a smaller databases may tend to "make due" with older/ slower backup systems.
Justin