A tablespace is a storage location where the actual data underlying database objects can be kept.
It provides a layer of abstraction between physical and logical data,[1] and serves to allocate storage for all DBMS managed segments.
By using tablespaces, an administrator also can control the disk layout of an installation.
On the other hand, a database table which contains archived data that is rarely accessed could be stored on a less expensive but slower magnetic hard drive.
Some database management systems allow tablespaces to be configured directly over operating-system device entries, called raw devices, providing better performance by avoiding the OS filesystem overheads.