Provides an explicit file specification for storage area files. The CREATE STORAGE AREA clause creates two files: a storage area file with a file extension of .rda, and a snapshot file with a file extension of .snp. If you omit the FILENAME argument, the file specification takes the following defaults: o Device: the current device for the process o Directory: the current directory for the process o File name: the name specified for the storage area Neither the file specification for the storage area nor the snapshot file may contain a node specification. The file specification is used for both the storage area and snapshot files that comprise the storage area (unless you use the SNAPSHOT FILENAME argument to specify a different file for the snapshot file). Because the CREATE STORAGE AREA clause can create two files with different file extensions, do not specify a file extension with the file specification. You may use a logical name for all or part of a file specification. One benefit of a multifile database is that its files can reside on more than one disk. If you want storage area files to reside on another disk, you must specify the FILENAME argument with a full file specification. However, you may choose to create a multifile database even if your main purpose in creating the storage area is not to distribute storage area files across more than one disk. For instance, a multifile database enables you to: o Take advantage of hashed indexes. Hashed indexes require a storage area with mixed page format and cannot be stored in the RDB$SYSTEM storage area. o Set attributes such as page size to better correspond with tables that will be stored in the storage area.