Sybase IQ distributes user data across multiple disks at the application level by representing each device as a dbspace. A dbspace can be an operating system file or a raw disk partition. Dbspaces can contain both user data and internal database structures used for startup, recovery, backup, and transaction management.
Creating a database creates several database files by default:
db-name.db is the catalog dbspace containing the system tables and stored procedures describing the database and any standard Adaptive Server Anywhere database objects you add. It is known as the Catalog Store, and has the dbspace-name SYSTEM.
db-name.iq is the main data dbspace containing the Sybase IQ table data and indexes. It is known as the IQ Store, and has the dbspace-name IQ_SYSTEM_MAIN.
db-name.iqtmp is the initial temporary dbspace containing the temporary tables generated by certain queries. It is known as the IQ Temporary Store and has the dbspace-name IQ_SYSTEM_TEMP.
Multiplex users may also create an IQ Local Store on a query server. It behaves like the IQ Store with respect to only that query server, and shares buffer cache with the IQ Main Store. This store has no default extension, although many users choose .iqloc.
For more about dbspaces, see “Adding dbspaces” in Sybase IQ System Administration Guide.
Although it is best to create all required dbspaces at database creation, Sybase IQ allows database administrators to add new dbspaces at any time to increase space available to the database.
