Re: Integrity of dump file

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:56:19 GMT, Arch <Please.do.not_at_spam.me> wrote:

>Mark C. Stock wrote:
>> "Arch" <Please.do.not_at_spam.me> wrote in message
>> news:Gni6d.13079$gE.3773_at_newssvr31.news.prodigy.com...
>> | It seems to me...
>> | If I'm using Oracle exp (9.2.0.4) and data in a table is changed between
>> | the start and finish, the resulting dump file might contain inconsistent
>> | data and not be reliable.
>> | Is that a correct assumption? If so, is there any way to be certain
>> | that a dump file is good other than making the db inaccessible during
>> | the export?
>>
>> could you be more specific in what you mean by 'dump' file, and what you
>> mean by 'good'?
>>
>> if you're doing hot backups, you're generally ok
>> if you're doing cold backups, the database should be shut down
>> if you're using exp, there is the CONSISTENT option to perform the export as
>> a read-only transaction
>>
>> ++ mcs
>
>By 'dump' file, I meant the output file that was created when I use the
>exp command and full=y switch.
>
>I'm not entirely sure about good. If the file could not be relied on to
>restore the database, it wouldn't be 'good'. I'm trying to find out if
>that is a concern.
>
>It looks as though the CONSISTENT option is the only means of ensuring
>cross table consistency. Thanks for the tip.

export is not intended as backup and consequently shouldn't be used to 'restore' a database.

--
Sybrand Bakker, Senior Oracle DBA