TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE TTS

TTS is one of the good feature of the oracle database introduced in 8i. DBAs can move huge amount
of data between databases (moving or copying datafile(s) from one database to another) using EXP
&

EXPDP commands. You need to put the source tablespace in READ ONLY MODE and export the metadata.

Source Tablespace must be in read only mode until to complete the process. The EXP/IMP utilities
are used to copy the metadata for the objects residing in the transported tablespaces, and ordinary
file copy commands like cp or scp are used to copy the actual data files.
From 10g, transportation of tablespaces between databases running on different OS platforms such
as (Windows to Linux) - which has same ENDIAN formats. If ENDIAN formats are different we have to
use RMAN.
CHECK PLATFORM SUPPORT AND FILE CONVERSION REQUIREMENT
On the source database & Target database
SQL> SELECT A.platform_id, A.platform_name, B.endian_format
FROM

v$database A,

WHERE

A.platform_id = B.platform_id;

PLATFORM_ID

v$transportable_platform B

PLATFORM_NAME

ENDIAN_FORMAT

------------ ------------------ --------------10

Linux IA (32-bit)

Little;

Usually ENDIAN_FORMAT shows either Big, Little or will be blank. A blank indicates that the
platform is NOT supported for cross-platform. If the source & target platform have the same endian
format, then file conversion is NOT necessary. If the endian formats differ, however then file
conversion is required.
Conversion produces output files in the correct format for use on the destination platform, but
does NOT alter the contents of the source datafiles. We can query the V$TRANSPORTABLE_PLATFORM
view to see the platforms that are supported, and to determine each platform's endian format.
SQL> select * from V$TRANSPORTABLE_PLATFORM;
PLATFORM_ID

PLATFORM_NAME

ENDIAN_FORMAT

------------

---------------------------

Solaris[tm] OE (32-bit)

Big

Solaris[tm] OE (64-bit)

Big

Microsoft Windows IA (32-bit)

Little

10

Linux IA (32-bit)

Little

AIX-Based Systems (64-bit)

Big

HP-UX (64-bit)

Big

HP Tru64 UNIX

Little

HP-UX IA (64-bit)

Big

11

Linux IA (64-bit)

Little

15

HP Open VMS

Little

Microsoft Windows IA (64-bit)

Little

IBM zSeries Based Linux

Big

------------------

..
...

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

Endian format describes the order in which a processor architecture natively places bytes in
memory, a CPU register, or a file.

(Byte Ordering - some processor architectures start with the

low-order byte and work their way up while some others start with the high-order byte and work
their way down).
To transport a tablespace from one platform to another, datafiles on different platforms must be
in the same endian format (Byte ordering). Big endian and little endian. Big endian means the most
significant byte comes first, and little endian means the least significant byte comes first.
As you see in this article I explain Transportable Tablespace across two databases running on same
version of database and operating systems. Both databases are within the list of platforms in
v$trasportable_platform. Both platforms are with the same byte ordering.
STEPS FOR TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACES
Following steps must be done on the source database.
1. Validate the tablespace is self-contained.
2. Make the migration tablespace to Read only mode.
3. Export the metadata of the source tablespace.
4. Copy the datafiles to the target server.
5. Perform the tablespace import.
System, undo, sysaux and temporary tablespaces can NOT be transported. We can transport one or
more tablespaces at a time. You cannot transport part of a tablespace.
TTS requires source tablespace must be SELF CONTAINED means Objects in the tablespace set cannot
reference or depend on objects that reside outside of the tablespace.
To find out if a tablespace set is self-contained execute the TRANSPORT_SET_CHECK procedure as SYS
user, which is in the DBMS_TTS package.
SYS> execute sys.dbms_tts.transport_set_check('tbs1', true);
Next query the transport_set_violations view.
SQL> select * from sys.transport_set_violations;
If we get any output other than no rows selected then we can NOT export the source tablespace,
we need to go through that output and we should take appropriate actions.
Which tablespace(s) you wish to transport should be self contained, it means should not contain
any objects that depend on objects outside the tablespaces.
Some examples of self-containment issues are,
1) An index inside the tablespace for a table but the table is in another tablespace.
2) A table containing LOB columns that either reference or utilize another tablespace not in the
export set. Ex: LOB storage.
3) A partitioned object only partially contained within the tablespace (one or more partitions
outside the set). I.e. objects partitions and/or sub-partitions span tablespaces.
4) A table in the transported tablespace set with a foreign key constraint that references a table
outside the tablespace set.

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

Prior to attempt to export need to ensure self-contained set of objects for transport Lets see
perfect example below.
A table (tab5) in the BPMS TABLESPACE had an index(indx1) in the USERS TABLESPACE, then transporting
the USERS tablespaces (without the CRMS tablespace) would present a problem. When the USERS
tablespace is transported into the target database, there would be an index on a non-exist table.
We can transport a table without its indexes but cannot transport an index without its table.
Oracle will not allow this and will point out the problem.

You can see as I tried to transport users tablespace independently but it would fail since it
contains index (indx1) for table(tab5) which is in BPMS tablespace. Finally both the tablespaces
(BPMS & USERS) can be transported together.
SQL> execute sys.dbms_tts.transport_set_check('users, bpms', true);
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SQL> select * from sys.transport_set_violations;
no rows selected

SCENERIO CREATING NEW TABLESPACES TBS1 & TBS2 IN SOURCE DATABASE

SYS> create tablespace tbs1 datafile '/u02/app/oracle/oradata/crms/tbs1_01.dbf' size 10m;
Tablespace created.
SYS> alter tablespace tbs1 add datafile '/u02/app/oracle/oradata/crms/tbs1_02.dbf' size 10m;
Tablespace altered.
SYS> create tablespace tbs2 datafile '/u02/app/oracle/oradata/crms/tbs2_01.dbf' size 10m;
Tablespace created.
SYS> alter tablespace tbs2 add datafile '/u02/app/oracle/oradata/crms/tbs2_02.dbf' size 10m;
Tablespace altered.

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TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

CREATING NEW USER

SYS> create user rose identified by rose;
User created.
SYS> grant connect, resource to rose;
Grant succeeded.
SYS> alter user rose default tablespace tbs1;
User altered.

SYS> select default_tablespace, temporary_tablespace from dba_users

2

where username='ROSE';

DEFAULT_TABLESPACE

TEMPORARY_TABLESPACE

------------------------------ -----------------------------TBS1

TEMP

ROSE> select * from tab;

TNAME

TABTYPE

CLUSTERID

------------------------------ ------- ---------DEPT

TABLE

EMP

TABLE

PAYROLL

TABLE

ROSE> select table_name, tablespace_name from user_tables;

TABLE_NAME

TABLESPACE_NAME

------------------------------ -----------------------------EMP

TBS1

DEPT

TBS1

PAYROLL

TBS1

ALL INDEX DETAILS IN ROSE SCHEMA

ROSE> select INDEX_NAME, TABLE_NAME, TABLESPACE_NAME from user_indexes;
INDEX_NAME

TABLE_NAME

------------------------------ ----------

TABLESPACE_NAME
--------------------

PAYROLL_SALARY_INDX4

PAYROLL

TBS2

CONS6_PKEY

PAYROLL

TBS1

EMP_NAME_INDX2

EMP

TBS2

EMP_GENDER_INDX1

EMP

TBS2

CONS1_PKEY

EMP

TBS1

CONS3_UNIQ

EMP

TBS1

CONS4_UNIQ

EMP

TBS1

DEPT_DNAME_INDX3

DEPT

TBS2

CONS5_PKEY

DEPT

TBS1

9 rows selected.

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

ROSE> select constraint_name, constraint_type, validated, table_name

from user_constraints;
CONSTRAINT_NAME

C VALIDATED

TABLE_NAME

------------------------------ - ------------- -----------------------------CONS6_PKEY

P VALIDATED

PAYROLL

CONS4_UNIQ

U VALIDATED

EMP

CONS5_PKEY

P VALIDATED

DEPT

CONS3_UNIQ

U VALIDATED

EMP

CONS1_PKEY

P VALIDATED

EMP

CONS2_NOTNULL

C VALIDATED

EMP

6 rows selected.
COLLECTING ALL OBJECT DETAILS IN ROSE SCHEMA.
SYS> SELECT

tablespace_name, segment_type, COUNT(*),

SUM (bytes) / 1024 / 1024 mb

FROM

dba_segments

WHERE

owner = 'ROSE'

GROUP BY tablespace_name, segment_type

ORDER BY 1, 2 DESC;

TABLESPACE_NAME

SEGMENT_TYPE

COUNT(*)

MB

------------------------------ ------------------ ---------- ---------TBS1

TABLE

1875

TBS1

INDEX

3125

TBS2

INDEX

25.2

VERIFYING TABLESPACE IS SELF- CONTAINED OR NOT

I am finding on the source database self-containment problems. You can see some violations at the
result of query so TBS2 is NOT self-contained tablespace.

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TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

I execute DBMS_TTS.TRANSPORT_SET_CHECK with both tablespace_name as argument.

SYS> execute sys.dbms_tts.transport_set_check('tbs1,tbs2', true);
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SYS> select * from sys.transport_set_violations;
no rows selected
Lastly we would be transport both the tablespace TBS1 & TBS2 together I.e. (tables and indexes).
Above query does not return any rows, so we are safe to proceed.
FINDING PROBLEMATIC DATA TYPES
SYS> SELECT B.data_type, COUNT(*)
2

FROM

dba_tables A, dba_tab_columns B

WHERE A.tablespace_name=TBS1

AND

B.owner = A.owner

AND

B.table_name = A.table_name

GROUP BY B.data_type

ORDER BY B.data_type;

DATA_TYPE
---------

COUNT(*)
-----------

DATE

NUMBER

VARCHAR2

11

Transportable tablespace feature does NOT support some data type for transporting (raw, long raw,
bfile, etc. In our case no problem with data types.
CHECKING ALL SCHEMAS WITH ASSOCIATED TABLESPACE
First we need to check the source database what schemas own objects in the tablespaces. What
schemas will be required on the target database and create them if they dont exist
SYS> SELECT owner, COUNT(*) FROM
2
OWNER

WHERE

dba_segments

tablespace_name IN ('TBS1','TBS2') GROUP BY owner;

COUNT(*)

------- -------ROSE

12

In our case we have only one schema and name is rose in source database. We also need to rename
tablespaces or schema objects on either the source or target database if there are duplications.
TARGET DATABASE
SYS> select username from dba_users where username='ROSE';
no rows selected
In our case there is no schema ROSE in target database. So we need to create required schema on
the target database. Create the ROSE user and assign appropriate privileges. Note that TTS only
imports tables, indexes and associated triggers. You need to have pre-created schema.

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

SYS> create user rose identified by rose;

User created.
SYS> grant connect, resource to rose;
Grant succeeded.
SYS> revoke unlimited tablespace from rose;
Revoke succeeded.
SET TABLESPACE TO READ-ONLY STATUS
Once you have verified for that selected tablespaces, make the tablespaces read only.
SYS> alter tablespace tbs1 read only;
Tablespace altered.
SYS> alter tablespace tbs1 read only;
Tablespace altered.
SYS> select tablespace_name, status from dba_tablespaces
2

where status='READ ONLY';

TABLESPACE_NAME
STATUS
------------------------------ --------TBS1

READ ONLY

TBS2

READ ONLY

EXTRACT METADATA FROM SOURCE DATABASE

Now ready to extract the metadata from the source database. We could use either EXP/EXPDP to do
this. You can use use the TRANSPORT_TABLESPACE & TABLESPACES parameters of the EXP utility.
$ exp file=file_name.dmp log=logfile_name.log TRANSPORT_TABLESPACE=Y TABLESPACES='xx,xx'
EXP command to create the data dictionary export including all triggers, constraints and grants as
it is. The default settings for the grants, triggers and constraints options is "y" (yes). If you
set grants, triggers or constraints to "n" (no) then they are ignored and not exported.

$ exp file=tts_exp.dmp log=tts_exp.log TRANSPORT_TABLESPACE=Y TABLESPACES='TBS1,TBS2'

Export: Release 11.2.0.1.0 - Production on Fri Apr 3 11:06:30 2015
Copyright (c) 1982, 2009, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

All rights reserved.

Username: system as sysdba

Password:
Connected to: Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.2.0.1.0 - Production
With the Partitioning, OLAP, Data Mining and Real Application Testing options
Export done in US7ASCII character set and AL16UTF16 NCHAR character set
server uses WE8MSWIN1252 character set (possible charset conversion)
Note: table data (rows) will not be exported
About to export transportable tablespace metadata...

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

For tablespace TBS1 ...

. exporting cluster definitions
. exporting table definitions
. . exporting table

EMP

. . exporting table

DEPT

. . exporting table

PAYROLL

For tablespace TBS2 ...

. exporting cluster definitions
. exporting table definitions
. exporting referential integrity constraints
. exporting triggers
. end transportable tablespace metadata export
Export terminated successfully without warnings.
COPY FILES TO TARGET SERVER
The next step is ready to copy the export file and tablespace data files to the target database
location. Then the original tablespaces can be altered back to READ WRITE mode in source database.
$ cp /u02/app/oracle/oradata/crms/tbs* /u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/
$ ls -l /u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs*
-rw-r-----

1 oracle oinstall 10493952 Apr

3 12:15 /u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs1_01.dbf

-rw-r-----

1 oracle oinstall 10493952 Apr

3 12:15 /u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs1_02.dbf

-rw-r-----

1 oracle oinstall 10493952 Apr

3 12:15 /u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs2_01.dbf

-rw-r-----

1 oracle oinstall 10493952 Apr

3 12:15 /u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs2_02.dbf

SYS> alter tablespace tbs1 read write;

Tablespace altered.
SYS> alter tablespace tbs2 read write;
Tablespace altered.
IMPORT METADATA INTO TARGET DATABASE

$ export ORACLE_SID=hrms
$ imp file=tts_exp.dmp

log=tts_imp.log

TRANSPORT_TABLESPACE=Y

TABLESPACES='TBS1,TBS2'

datafiles=/u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs1_01.dbf,
/u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs1_02.dbf,
/u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs2_01.dbf,
/u02/app/oracle/oradata/hrms/tbs2_02.dbf
Import: Release 11.2.0.1.0 - Production on Fri Apr 3 12:40:44 2015
Copyright (c) 1982, 2009, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

All rights reserved.

Username: / as sysdba
Connected to: Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.2.0.1.0 - Production
With the Partitioning, OLAP, Data Mining and Real Application Testing options
Export file created by EXPORT:V11.02.00 via conventional path
About to import transportable tablespace(s) metadata...

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TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE & TABLESPACE POINT IN TIME RECOVERY

import done in US7ASCII character set and AL16UTF16 NCHAR character set
import server uses WE8MSWIN1252 character set (possible charset conversion)
. importing SYS's objects into SYS
. importing SYS's objects into SYS
. importing ROSE's objects into ROSE
. . importing table

"EMP"

. . importing table

"DEPT"

. . importing table

"PAYROLL"

. importing SYS's objects into SYS

Import terminated successfully without warnings.
If plugged_in value is yes then that tablespace is transported tablespace
SYS> select plugged_in,tablespace_name from dba_tablespaces;
PLU TABLESPACE_NAME
--- -----------------NO

SYSTEM

NO

SYSAUX

NO

UNDOTBS1

NO

TEMP

NO

USERS

NO

HRMS

YES

TBS2

NO

BPMS

YES

TBS1

10 rows selected.
SYS> conn rose/rose
Connected.
ROSE> select * from tab;
TNAME

TABTYPE

CLUSTERID

------------------------------ ------- ---------DEPT

TABLE

EMP

TABLE

PAYROLL

TABLE

POINTS TO REMEMBER FOR TRANSPORTABLE TABLESPACE

1) Check Platform Support (source & target endian formats).
2) Verify Tablespace is self-contained.
3) Check for Problematic Data Types
4) Put Tablespace(s) in Read only Mode.
5) Export Metadata of the Tablespace from source database.
6) Make the tablespace(s) in read write mode.
7) Create required schema(s) in target database.
9) If necessary, convert data files to correct endian format for the target.
8) Copy export dump file and converted datafile(s) to the target database location.
9) Import the metadata into the target database.

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu