• The RMAN CONVERT DATABASE command is used to automate the movement of an entire database from one platform (the source platform) to another (the destination platform).

• The source and destination platform must share the same endian format.

Note: If the source and destination platform have different endian format, you can create a new database on a destination platform manually, and transport needed tablespaces from the source database using cross-platform transportable tablespace.

DBMS_TDB.CHECK_DB checks whether a database can be transported to a desired destination platform, and whether the current state of the database permits transport.

It is a function that returns TRUE if the source database can be transported using CONVERT DATABASE, and FALSE otherwise.

It has the following parameters:

TARGET_PLATFORM_NAME - The name of the destination platform, as it appears inV$DB_TRANSPORTABLE_PLATFORM.

SKIP_OPTION - Specifies which, if any, parts of the database to skip when checking whether the database can be transported. Supported values (of type NUMBER) are:

o SKIP_NONE (or 0), which checks all tablespaces

o SKIP_OFFLINE (or 2), which skips checking datafiles in offline    tablespaces

o SKIP_READONLY (or 3), which skips checking datafiles in read-only    tablespaces

Set SERVEROUTPUT to ON to see output includes why the database cannot be transported.

DBMS_TDB.CHECK_EXTERNAL must be used to identify any external tables, directories or BFILEs. RMAN cannot automate the transport of such files.

1. Open the database in READ ONLY mode then use the RMAN command CONVERT     DATABASE as follows:

Alternatively, you can use ON TARGET PLATFORM clause makes the datafile conversion on the target database.

This means RMAN will generate the appropriate conversion scripts to be run on the target server to perform the datafile conversion there.

CONVERT DATABASE
ON TARGET PLATFORM
NEW DATABASE 'newdb'
CONVERT SCRIPT '/tmp/convertdb/newdb.cnv'
TRANSPORT SCRIPT '/tmp/convertdb/transcript'
DB_FILE_NAME_CONVERT = '/disk1/oracle/dbs'
'/tmp/convertdb'

Note: CONVERT DATABASE ON TARGET PLATFORM does not produce converted datafile copies.

2. Copy all of the files produced to the destination host and place the datafiles in the     desired locations on the destination host.

3. If the path to the datafiles is different on the destination, then edit, if any, the conversion     script and the transport script to refer to the new datafile locations.

4. Edit the PFILE to change any settings for the destination database.

5. Execute the transport script in SQL*Plus to create the new database on the destination     host.

6. Open the database using RESETLOGS option ALTER DATABASE OPEN     RESETLOGS;

7. Execute some maintenance code:

8. Change the internal database identifier using DBNEWID Utility