Re: Backing up whole db

"Can Oezdemir" <no_at_spam.net> wrote in message news:<blkess$dfkkj$1_at_ID-194392.news.uni-berlin.de>...
> Hello,
>
> I'd like to ask which backup method you would prefer, if I just wanted to
> backup an entire oracle 9i database, in order to restore it afterwards, on a
> new Windows XP installation.
> My suggestion would be to use RMAN and do a backup of all necessary
> tablespaces (...of course, also the system tablespace, otherwise the table
> definitions would be gone...).
> Is it more appropriate to use the Export/Import utiliy in this case? Because
> this utility is saving table definitions, either....
>
> Would be nice, if someone would give me a hint which method is more prudent
> one for my purpose.

One is physical, one is logical, they both have different purposes. So it is not redundant to do both. It is very handy to be able to grab a table or definition out of an export after something screwy has happened to the new db.

RMAN can dup databases, which is fine if you are in a controlled environment. If you are distributing to an environment out of your control, such as a customer, you probably want to export.

My own druthers is to create and populate the db with unix shell scripts, but that just shows my bias.

jg

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