Re: Upgrade to 8.1.6 - Advice sought from DBA's

jane_ballard_at_my-deja.com wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> We are presently pursue a course to upgrade from oracle 8.0.5 to
> oracle 8.1.6.
>
> Constraints on the upgrade.
> Live production server installed with oracle 8.0.5, developer 6.0
> 4 oracle 8.0.5 instances.
> No standby server
> Archivelog mode on
> Backup could be done only for the data portion of the server
> from what the network guys tells me.
>
> Oracle tells me that I need to kill off oracle 8.0.5 and re-install
> oracle 8.1.6 and proceed with a fresh install.
>
> My concern is that if there is a problem... I will pay dearly
> for that...
>
> Question is: Given the constraints... what is the best approach
> to this upgrade from 8.0.5 to 8.1.6. One thought is to have
> multiple oracle homes on the same machine.
>
> eg. install oracle 8.1.6
> install oracle developer 6.1
> export oracle 8.0.5 database
> import into oracle 8.1.6 database.
>
> Will this approach the best option to at least ensure the safety
> of the 8.0.5 database incase the 8.1.6 upgrade does not go well..
>
> Appreciate the advice.
>
> Platform: Windows NT, service pack 4.
> Database 8.0.5 for oracle
> Upgrade 8.1.6 for oracle.
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Before you buy.

Certainly if you can put up with the down time, then an export/import is a great way to go, mainly because :

1. you can optimize your sql.bsq in 8.1.6 using the 8.0.5 dictionary as a source
2. your indexes will all be rebuild which will make them quicker
3. you can take this opportunity to turn compression on your indexes which should improve your range scans
4. your data will be packed better by the reload process
5. you can change any pctfree/pctused settings as you go
6. you can move to locally managed tablespace (which are fantastic!), which immediately "solves" any fragmentation issues that you may have had.

Many of us DBA's have to do the plain 'ol migrate option simply because the database can't be down, if there is insufficient space or time to do it...but with a little careful planning you'll be able to reload your data in a very close to optimal fashion, and never have to reorg again...ever.

Have fun!

HTH

-- 
===========================================
Connor McDonald
http://www.oracledba.co.uk (mirrored at
http://www.oradba.freeserve.co.uk)

"Early to bed and early to rise, 
 makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." - some dead guy