Recommendations for import data sizes?

Hi

I'm building a copy of a database on a test system from a full export on live. It works OK, but I've been playing around with db_block_buffers and sort_area_size to try and speed the whole deal up. Using the usual 'with-users' sizes, the import took around 1.5 days. The machine is 196mb and I'm importing around 21gb import file.

My question is, is it more appropriate for an import to dedicate more memory to sort_area_size to speed up index creation, or perhaps to db_block_buffers to increase data hits? Some sort of recommended ratio/balance between the two?

If anyone has any recommendations on how I can optimize this, I'd be grateful. I have done 4 imports so far, but I'm wondering where I should be using this memory - in the SGA or PGA?. I'm hoping to go right up against that 196mb of memory so there is as little (pref. none) swapping going on. The machine is dedicated to this, no other users/db's on it.

Thanks in advance

Andrew Received on Mon Apr 03 2000 - 04:03:04 CDT