| Type of storage | Characteristics | Usage |
| In-line | · Enabled by defining the LOB with the ENABLE STORAGE IN ROW clause.· Can be used to store only LOBs that are smaller than 4,000 bytes.· Faster LOB retrieval performance than out of line, but slower table scans, because the table is larger. | · Use when you are fairly certain that the size of the LOB will not exceed 4,000 bytes.· Once the LOB becomes larger than 4,000 bytes, it is automatically moved to out-of-line storage. |
| Out-of-line | · Default storage characteristic of a LOB, or enabled with the DISABLE STORAGE IN ROW clause.· Data is stored in a tablespace, but not in the actual table row.· Data is backed up with a standard database backup. | · Use when LOBs are expected to contain more than 4,000 bytes.· Typically, you would define a separate tablespace for LOB storage. |
| Externally | · Uses the BFILE data type, which acts as a pointer to an operating system file.· Data in a BFILE is READ-ONLY. | Most frequently used when you either already have large file objects stored in the operating system or want to allow access to thesefiles without going through the Oracle database. |