Online redo log setup problems: Many sites run with too few online redo log files and files that are too small. Small redo log files cause system checkpoints to continuously put a high load on the buffer cache and I/O system. If too few redo log files exist, then the archive cannot keep up, and the database must wait for the archiver to catch up.

The size of the redo log files can influence performance, because the behavior of the database writer and archiver processes depend on the redo log sizes. Generally, larger redo log files provide better performance. Undersized log files increase checkpoint activity and reduce performance. Although the size of the redo log files does not affect LGWR performance, it can affect DBWR and checkpoint behavior. Checkpoint frequency is affected by several factors, including log file size and the setting of the FAST_START_MTTR_TARGET initialization parameter. If the FAST_START_MTTR_TARGET parameter is set to limit the instance recovery time, Oracle Database automatically tries to checkpoint as frequently as necessary. Under this condition, the size of the log files should be large enough to avoid additional checkpointing due to under sized log files. The optimal size can be obtained by querying the OPTIMAL_LOGFILE_SIZE column from the V$INSTANCE_RECOVERY view. You can also obtain sizing advice on the Redo Log Groups page of Oracle Enterprise Manager.It may not always be possible to provide a specific size recommendation for redo log files, but redo log files in the range of 100 MB to a few gigabytes are considered reasonable. Size online redo log files according to the amount of redo your system generates. A rough guide is to switch log files at most once every 20 minutes.