先看看Oracle文档上对db_block_checking参数的说明：
DB_BLOCK_CHECKINGcontrols whether Oracle performs block checking for data blocks. When this parameter is set totrue, Oracle performs block checking for all data blocks. When it is set tofalse, Oracle does not perform. block checking for blocks in the user tablespaces. However, block checking for theSYSTEMtablespace is always turned on.
Oracle checks a block by going through the data on the block, making sure it is self-consistent. Block checking can often prevent memory and data corruption. Block checking typically causes 1% to 10% overhead, depending on workload. The more updates or inserts in a workload, the more expensive it is to turn on block checking. You should setDB_BLOCK_CHECKINGtotrueif the performance overhead is acceptable
从文档中可以看到，DB_BLOCK_CHECKING参数主要是用于数据块的逻辑（一致）检查（但只是块内，不包括块间的逻辑检查，比如索引项目的 ROWID指向的是不存在的行等）。主要用于防止在内存中损坏或数据损坏。由于是逻辑检查，因此引起的额外负荷比较高，甚至可以达到10%，因此对于一个繁忙的系统，特别是插入或更新操作很多的系统，性能影响是比较明显的。
该参数对SYSTEM表空间始终是处于“打开”状态，而不管该参数是否设置为FALSE。
下面再看看db_block_checksum参数的说明：
DB_BLOCK_CHECKSUMdetermines whether DBWnand the direct loader will calculate achecksum(a number calculated from all the bytes stored in the block) and store it in the cache header of every data block when writing it to disk. Checksums are verified when a block is read-only if this parameter istrueand the last write of the block stored a checksum. In addition, Oracle gives every log block a checksum before writing it to the current log.
If this parameter is set tofalse, DBWncalculates checksums only for theSYSTEMtablespace, but not for user tablespaces.
Checksums allow Oracle to detect corruption caused by underlying disks, storage systems, or I/O systems. Turning on this feature typically causes only an additional 1% to 2% overhead. Therefore, Oracle Corporation recommends that you setDB_BLOCK_CHECKSUMtotrue
可以看到，DB_BLOCK_CHECKSUM只是在写入（DBWn常规写法或用户进程直接路径写入），根据一个CHECKSUM算法，计算数据块的校验和。然后写入数据块的一个特定位置（CACHE HEADER，具体是块的16-17字节，以0字节起算）。在读取块时，再进行检验。主要是防止IO硬件和IO子系统的错误。
CHECKSUM的算法只是根据块的字节值计算一个效验和，因此算法比较简单，引起的系统额外负荷通常在1%-2%
实际上，即使将该参数设为TRUE，将数据块（包括SYSTEM表空间）的16-17字节清0，同时将15字节（flag），第3位（即值为16进制 0x04）清为0，则在块读取时也不会做CHECKSUM检查。如果该参数为FALSE，对于除SYSTEM的其他表空间，如果原来有CHECKSUM 值，将15-16字节清0也不会做CHECKSUM检查。