Re: Oracle newbie!! - Please help!!

Oracle 8i is also know as Oracle version 8.1.5 (6)

8.0.5 was the version before Oracle 8i (simply, Version 8)

Blame marketing people for the confusion.

Anyway - glad to hear your being asked to do a conversion from SQl Server to Oracle. Keep posting here and I for one will help.

First tip - don't assume the migration workbenches will work - they don't always.

Second tip - find any excuse to delay the migration and get stuck in to the documentation. You have to do this first.

If you don't do the second tip, the best that can happen is that the migration goes flawlessly and your new oracle database sings along until BOOOM. Then you realise you've no idea what goes / has been going on inside it. But its far too late now. You annoy your bosses. You get Oracle a bad name in their eyes. You damage your own reputation ... you get my point.

Maybe it would be appropriate to swallow your pride and get a consultant in to do the migration. Also try and get some Oracle instruction from an Oracle Education provider (overpriced maybe but the manuals cut through SO much of the over-powering detail that you get with the Oracle Documentation itself).

Ask youself - where do you want to be with this database in 2 years time?

Working smoothly with backup procedures in place or staggering from one disaster to another as you simultaneously try to just learn what the database is doing? You won't have time for both.

regards,

David P.

Robert Martin wrote:
>
> Please bear with me. I am a complete newbie that has been thrown into the position as a Oracle DBA (lucky me). Anyways, we have a
> SQL Server 7.0 database that we need to migrate over to Oracle 8i. We have Oracle 8i version 8.0.5 installed on the same machine as
> the SQL Server machine. I tried to download and install the Oracle® Migration Workbench for MS SQL Server 7.0 software in order to
> migrate the database. Well, I read most of the release notes and I have to have the 8.1.5 client installed on the machine that I
> want to install this software on. Do I have to upgrade my Oracle 8.0.5 install to the 8.1.5 install? I have tried to install the
> 8.1.5 Enterprise Edition software over the 8.0.5 install, but I can't because the release notes state I can't install over a HOME
> (whatever the hell a home is - I still don't really understand this concept yet fully) that already exists. So what do I do? Do I
> have to uninstall the 8.0.5 software? I am afraid to do this cause I totally screwed up our NT server when I did this before. Should
> I just forget the DEFAULT_HOME that exists and install into a new home and completely forget the original home I created with the
> 8.0.5 install (which looks like it will waste a lot of disk space if I do this). What do I do!?!?! Any information will be greatly
> appreciated. Also, is there content on the net or a good book that will help me as a newbie? I recently got the "Oracle 8i DBA
> Handbook" from the Oracle Press. Is this good enough?
>
> ALSO: Direct responses to my email address listed below will be greatly appreciated too.
>
> -------------------------------------------
> Robert Martin (rwmartin_at_sisconet.com)
> Design Engineer
> SISCO Inc
  Received on Wed Mar 08 2000 - 00:00:00 CST