You can use interval partitioning for almost every table that is range partitioned and uses fixed intervals for new partitions. The database automatically creates interval partitions as data for that partition is inserted. Until this happens, the interval partition exists but no segment is created for the partition.
The benefit of interval partitioning is that you do not need to create your range partitions explicitly. You should consider using interval partitioning unless you create range partitions with different intervals, or if you always set specific partition attributes when you create range partitions. You can specify a list of tablespaces in the interval definition. The database creates interval partitions in the provided list of tablespaces in a round-robin manner.
If you upgrade your application and you use range partitioning or composite range-* partitioning, then you can easily change your existing table definition to use interval partitioning. You cannot manually add partitions to an interval-partitioned table. If you have automated the creation of new partitions, then in the future you must change your application code to prevent the explicit creation of range partitions.
The following example shows how to change the sales table in the sample sh schema from range partitioning to start using monthly interval partitioning.
ALTER TABLE sales SET INTERVAL (NUMTOYMINTERVAL(1,'MONTH'));
You cannot use interval partitioning with reference partitioned tables.
Serializable transactions do not work with interval partitioning. Inserting data into a partition of an interval partitioned table that does not have a segment yet causes an error.