ArcSDE compressed binary storage

The ArcSDE Compressed Binary storage type uses a binary storage mechanism for storing feature geometry.

The client application, after verifying the geometry, compresses and sends it to the server, where it is stored in Compressed Binary format in a feature table, or F table. Compressing the geometry on the client unloads the task from the ArcSDE server and reduces the transmission time to send the geometry. It also offers efficient storage and retrieval of spatial data by reducing the space required to store data by as much as 40 percent.

The ArcSDE Compressed Binary storage type can be used to store geometry in ArcSDE geodatabases in Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server databases. It is the primary storage type for ArcSDE geodatabases stored in SQL Server and was previously the default storage type for ArcSDE geodatabases stored in Oracle prior to ArcGIS 9.3.

Tip:

For ArcGIS 9.3 and later releases, the default geometry storage type in ArcSDE for Oracle is ST_Geometry.

A compressed binary feature class is made up of three tables: the business table, feature table, and spatial index table.

The business table contains attributes and a spatial column. The spatial column is a key to the feature and spatial index tables.

The relationship between the business table and feature table is managed through the spatial column and the feature ID (FID) column. This key, which is maintained by ArcSDE, is unique.

For further description of feature classes stored in the ArcSDE Compressed Binary format, see Feature classes in a geodatabase in SQL Server and Feature classes in a geodatabase in Oracle.

ArcSDE Compressed Binary in Oracle

For geodatabases stored in Oracle, ArcSDE Compressed Binary geometry can be stored as either a binary large object (BLOB) or LONG RAW data type. ArcSDE geodatabases in Oracle use ST_Geometry storage by default, so if you want to store most of your geometry in ArcSDE Compressed Binary format, you need to alter the DEFAULTS GEOMETRY_STORAGE parameter to SDELOB, which is the ArcSDE Compressed geometry stored as a BLOB. For information on tuning storage of BLOBs in a geodatabase stored in Oracle, see BLOB data storage in geodatabases in Oracle.

Caution:

Oracle may deprecate the LONG RAW storage type in a future release. For this reason, it is recommended that you not use SDEBINARY storage for new feature classes.

If you want to have a mix of geometry types in your ArcSDE geodatabase for Oracle, you can leave the DEFAULTS GEOMETRY_STORAGE parameter set to ST_GEOMETRY, then specify other configuration keywords to be used when you create particular feature classes. Available keywords are SDELOB, SDO_GEOMETRY, and WKB_GEOMETRY.