Memory managcmcnt involves maintaining optimal sizes for thc Oracle instancc memory structures as dcmands on the databasc change. The memory that must be managed is thc System Global Area (SGA) memory and the instancc Program Global Area (PGA) memory. The instancc PGA memory is thc collection of memory allocations for all individual PGAs.
Beginning with Oracle Databasc 11# Release 1 (11.1), you can let thc databasc manage
the SGA memory and instancc PGA memory completely. You designate only the total memory sizc to be used by the instancc, and Oracle Databasc dynamically exchanges memory between the SGA and the instancc PGA as needed to meet processing dcmands. This capability is referred to as automatic memory managcmcnt. In this memory management modę, the databasc also dynamically tunes the sizes of the individual SGA components and the instancc PGA.