I think its a throwback to the early 7 versions where an instance wouldn't start if a single segment could not be found. Once that restriction was lifted, I'll think you'll struggle to find any difference whatsoever besides a few less lines outputted by ipcs. hth connor On 7/26/05, Allen, Brandon <Brandon.Allen@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > I've just read several notes on metalink and other sites, some saying that > SHMMAX should be large enough to fit the SGA into a single segment for > optimal performance, and others saying it doesn't really matter. Does > anyone have any relevant advice, opinions or experiences to share? > > Thanks, > Brandon -- Connor McDonald =========================== email: connor_mcdonald@xxxxxxxxx web: http://www.oracledba.co.uk "Semper in excremento, sole profundum qui variat" -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l