UNIX and Linux Applications

Is there a way to recover Oracle database in x86 server from broken sparc server (Solaris10)?

Yes... Do you have the latest full export?

no, we only have ufsdump.

Was the database idle at the time, i.e. the instance was shutdown or the tablespaces were all in backup mode?

When you say broken, do you mean:-If you can tell us more about the scenario and what you have then maybe we can assist.

There is no shame here, we've all broken machines by being daft. It's how we learn and make sure we don't do it again, especially me

Don't worry about admitting a mistake. A single disk failure should have some sort of protection on it, so if that's the cause, then there is a lesson to learn.


Regards,
Robin

thanks for the reply. well the server hasn't broken yet. it was more of a hypothetical question. server is very old, and if it broke we might have to move to x86.
the database had been shutdown properly, before making ufs backup.

Yes but you are changing platform... The safest in this case is to have a full export and copies of controlfiles...
I dont know to what point ufsdump is architecture dependant but an export isnt

Assuming that all the data files of the database are on the ufsbackup tape, then you should be able to restore on a replacement server. Are you doing this in preference to export/import of the data?

You might need to get the files in exactly the same location on the target server so that the devices that Oracle is expecting all exist as the correct names - apologies if this is stating the obvious. You would also need to consider files that oracle uses that are not the data files, e.g. the parameter file, /etc/oratab, any startup scripts etc.


Personally, I would favour building the new server with an up-to-date oracle install and export/import. If space to export to is a problem, then this can be done across the network and imported at the same time to the target.


Regards,
Robin