The sum of the lengths of all the columns is the record length. The length of data that is physically stored in the table is the record length plus DB2® overhead for each row and each page. You can choose various page sizes for record lengths that best fit your needs.

If row sizes are very small, use the 4 KB page size. Use the default of 4-KB page sizes when access to your data is random and typically requires only a few rows from each page.

Some situations require larger page sizes. DB2 provides three larger page sizes of 8 KB, 16 KB, and 32 KB to allow for longer records. For example, when the size of individual rows is greater than 4-KB, you must use a larger page size. In general, you can improve performance by using pages for record lengths that best suit your needs.