Re: Standby databases and different sids

First off, remember that the database name and the name of the Instance are two entirely different things. So the fact that you have a SID of 'timbuctoo' doesn't mean zip when it comes to what the Control File knows to be the database name.

However, there is a parameter called db_name which is used to check these things, and if you're going to start fiddling around with SIDs and database names, you might want to check that you've changed that too.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't be changing the names. The idea of the standby is that you can failover to it relatively gracefully -that means clients have minimum work to do to connect to the new server. Start changing database names, and you rather defeat the object of the exercise.

Finally, though: the whole enterprise is doomed because one of your boxes is running a different version of the operating system than the other. It's explicitly stated in all the training documentation that the two boxes have to be configured identically with the same operating system and same Oracle version -right down to the identical patch numbers.

You might be able to get away with it, but since the whole concept of standby database is to provide for disaster recovery, I wouldn't be complicating the scenario too much. These database are supposed to be clones (ie, 'identical copies') of each other. So, make it so.

Regards
HJR

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<williamhargrove_usenet_at_hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8s71mn$h1g$1_at_nnrp1.deja.com...


> Hello All,

>

> I am trying to set up a standby database, using Oracle 8.1.6 on Solaris

> 8 and 7

> (the production machine is running 8 - it is actually a development

> machine,

> and the standby machine - even more of a development machine is running

> 7.)

>

> The instance on the production machine is called 'td4', and the instance

> on the standby is

> called 'td6'. And I think this is probably the cause of the problems

> that I am having. I've

> copied the datafiles, redo logs, and archived redo logs from the

> production server, and

> the standby control file that I have created on the production server,

> and placed then on

> the standby machine, update the init.ora files on both machines, to copy

> log files via net8

> and for the standby machine to read the standby control files and

> standby log archive dest.

> I also copied the production init.ora file to the standby machine, and

> changed the references

> to the sid and db_name from td4 to td6.

>

> So I go to startup the standby dd, and get the error below. Thinking

> about what has hapenned

> here, I have taken a standby control file from the production machine,

> which thinks the sid

> and db are called 'td4' and placed them on a machine with an identical

> db that I have created

> using the scripts from the production machine, but with a sid set to

> td6, and no wonder

> it doesn't work. The control files say td4, but the ORACLE_SID says td6,

> and so does the

> init.ora file

>

> So, does the sid on the standby machine have to be the same as the

> production machine, so the

> standby control files think it is the 'same' database? And furthermore,

> is there any need

> to even bother using dbassist / running scripts to create a new database

> on the standby

> machine, since I am going to be copying the files over from the

> production machine and

> replacing the ones what I will have just created.

>

> Connected to an idle instance.

>

> SQL> startup nomount

> pfile=/opt/oracle/OraHome1/admin/td6/pfile/inittd6.ora

> ORACLE instance started.

>

> Total System Global Area  166301680 bytes

> Fixed Size                    69616 bytes

> Variable Size              63651840 bytes

> Database Buffers          102400000 bytes

> Redo Buffers                 180224 bytes

> SQL> alter database mount standby database;

> alter database mount standby database

> *

> ERROR at line 1:

> ORA-01103: database name 'TD4' in controlfile is not 'TD6'

>

>

> SQL> quit

>

>

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> Before you buy.