Can tablespace block size different from the database block size

Question

I have a 10.2.0.3 database in Unix system.
I created a database used default block size of 8k. However, the client application requires 16k block size database. Can I work around to create a tablespace that has 16k block size instead of drop the database to recreate the database.
Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

As Steven pointed out, you certainly can.
I would generally question, though, whether you should.
- Why does the application require 16k block sizes? If this is a custom application, it almost certainly doesn't really require 16k blocks. If this is a packaged application, it probably doesn't really require 16k blocks. If 16k blocks are a requirement for support, I would wager that having the application's objects in 16k block size tablespaces in a database with 8k blocks would not be supported.
- Mixing block sizes increases the management complexity of your database, potentially substantially. You need to specify a completely separate buffer cache for the 16k blocks, a buffer cache that would not be integrated with Oracle's automatic SGA management functionality. Figuring out how to split up the buffer cache between 8k and 16k blocks tends to be rather hard (particularly if the mix changes over time), which means that DBAs are going to be spending substantially more time managing the SGA in this sort of system than in a vanilla 10.2.0.3 system. And that DBAs will have many more opportunities to set things up incorrectly.
Justin