How do I backup Oracle 8i in Cyrillic characters(CL8ISO8859P5) in unix

The character set of the db may be irrelevant in this case, except in case you use export and import.

3 questions:

Do you want a "portable backup" that could be transferred to any other Oracle database, or do you want a physical backup that can be used to completely restore everything on the Solaris server itself?

Are you able to shut the database down for the backup?

How large is the db?

I can find the answers but I think my customer wants to import DB in russian symbols.


Thanks,

Im confused about what you are asking.

Do you want to backup a database as part of a standard backup & recovery procedure, or are you looking to move / migrate a database. Your last post seems to indicate the latter.

if you have an export file (.dmp file) already, then just make sure you've create a database with the appropriate DB character set, or use a unicode character set for the DB (AL32UTF8), and then make sure to set your cyrillic charset in NLS_LANG in the environment before importing.

Please clarify exactly what you are trying to accomplish and I'll provide specifics.

Sorry about the confusion. I am not a Database personnel. I have done simple backup but not any complex. My supervisor wanted me to find a solution for a customer.

The customer wants to do standard backup. He wants to export and import in Cyrillic characters. Can you please provide a little detail on how it is done so that I can explain my supervisor clearly.

Thanks for the help.

To export and import in that characterset, you need to make sure NLS_LANG environment variable is set.

Example:

export NLS_LANG=russian_cis.CL8ISO8859P5

Then run export:

exp system/manager full=y file=export.dmp

When importing, make sure NLS_LANG is set as well.

Your database character set also has to be compatible, so make sure to check that.

select * from nls_database_parameters
  where parameter like '%CHARACTERSET%';


Your NLS_CHARACTERSET should at least be a UTF8 (recommend AL32UTF8) or other unicode capable charset, or be identical to the one you want to import.

On both databases the NLS_LANG parameter should be set to
NLS_LANG=russian_cis.CL8ISO8859P5
before export and before import.

The database you will import should be created either with CL8ISO8859P5 character set or (beginning with Oracle 9i) with AL32UTF8 character set.

AL32UTF8 character set doesn't exist in Oracle 8i.