The UGA is session memory, which is memory allocated for session variables, such as logon information, and other information required by a database session. Essentially, the UGA stores the session state.
If a session loads a PL/SQL package into memory, then the UGA contains the package state, which is the set of values stored in all the package variables at a specific time. The package state changes when a package subprogram changes the variables. By default, the package variables are unique to and persist for the life of the session.
The OLAP page pool is also stored in the UGA. This pool manages OLAP data pages, which are equivalent to data blocks. The page pool is allocated at the start of an OLAP session and released at the end of the session. An OLAP session opens automatically whenever a user queries a dimensional object such as a cube.
The UGA must be available to a database session for the life of the session. For this reason, the UGA cannot be stored in the PGA when using a shared server connection because the PGA is specific to a single process. Therefore, the UGA is stored in the SGA when using shared server connections, enabling any shared server process access to it. When using a dedicated server connection, the UGA is stored in the PGA.
