Re: Moving an 8i Database

From: Paul Drake <drak0nian_at_yahoo.com>
Date: 13 Dec 2003 15:49:52 -0800
Message-ID: <1ac7c7b3.0312131549.5ebc9126@posting.google.com>

"Coder" <none_at_none.com> wrote in message news:<NcnCb.123862$Vu6.47020_at_twister.rdc-kc.rr.com>...
> Hi, I've worked with Oracle a bit, but am still very much a newbie.
>
> I'm planning the move of a production database system from an old server
> running Windows 2000 SP2 to a new one also running Windows 2000, but with
> SP4 and all other updates.
>
> The current server is running Oracle 8i and another application on top of
> it. The entire database is about 11GB.
>
> From my research it looks like there are several ways to move this database
> over to the new server. What do you think is the best way to do the move it?
> I need to get an identical configuration on the new server.
>
> Thanks!!

what are your availability requirements and length of the maintenance window?

The most simple method is to:

- create local accounts, groups for oracle.
- install oracle server software on new server.
- apply patchsets on new server that have been installed on old

server.
- copy all config files from old to new, change the hostname where appropriate.
- create oracle services in the OS (listeners, OracleService%ORACLE_SID%)
- configure permissions and ownership of the software and data filesystems.
- shutdown the existing instance cleanly (normal or immediate) copy the files to the new server and open the database. - if files need to be relocated on the new server, adjust the location of the controlfiles in the init.ora file, perform a startup mount instead of just a startup and rename the files from old location to new prior to opening the database.

if you need to shrink the maintenance window (11 GB of files to transfer over fast ethernet is a long time)

assuming that no tablespaces can go into read-only mode: (if they can, copy those across ahead of time)

take a hot backup set of the database on the existing server. move it across the network (a couple of gigabit cards + a x-over cable would be nice) from the old to new server. copy all of the archived redo logs generated during and since the backup set was taken from old to new.

shutdown the old database. copy the controlfiles, online redo logs and any remaining archived redo logs. (this is known as a graceful switchover in Lawrence To speak back in the days of 7.3, search for "oracle standby graceful failover switchover")

Open the database on the new server. No data has been lost. Your downtime window is only the amount of time to shutdown, to copy the online redo logs and controlfiles across the network and to startup on the new server.

I've moved such databases in the past via removing a (large capacity) hard drive from one server and plugging it into another, but using gigabit ethernet ought to be similar in speed to the read rate from a single new ultra 320 SCSI drive.

hth.

Pd Received on Sat Dec 13 2003 - 17:49:52 CST