Preferred Database Tools

Lists the various database tools you can use to perform common database administration tasks.

Oracle recommends you use tools listed in the "Preferred Tool" column of the table. After choosing a tool to perform a task, go to Preferred Database Tools from the Start Menu, for instructions on how to start the tool.

Note:

The VOLSIZE parameter for the Export and Import utilities is not supported on Windows. If you attempt to use the utilities with the VOLSIZE parameter, then error LRM-00101 occurs. For example:

D:\> exp system full=y volsize=100m;
Password: password
LRM-00101: unknown parameter name 'volsize'
EXP-00019: failed to process parameters, type 'EXP HELP=Y' for help
EXP-00000: Export terminated unsuccessfully

Table 2-1 Preferred Database Tools

Administration Task	Preferred Tool	Other Tools
Create database services	Database Configuration Assistant	ORADIM
Delete database services	Database Configuration Assistant	ORADIM
Change passwords in the database password file	ORAPWD	ORADIM
Update the password of an Oracle Home User	Oracle Home User Control	None
Migrate database users to a directory	User Migration Utility	None
Migrate a database	Oracle Database Upgrade Assistant	Upgrade Information Tool
Export data	Data Pump Export (EXPDP)	Export (EXP)
Import data	Data Pump Import (IMPDP)	Import (IMP)
Load data	Oracle Enterprise Manager Load Wizard	SQL*Loader (SQLLDR)
Back up database	Oracle Enterprise Manager Backup Wizard	Recovery Manager (RMAN) OCOPY
Recover database	Oracle Enterprise Manager Recovery Wizard	Recovery Manager (RMAN) OCOPY
Store encrypted and decrypted Oracle Wallet (Oracle Advanced Security and security PKI integration)	Oracle Wallet Manager	None
Grant database roles	Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Express	Local Users and Groups SQL*Plus
Create database objects	Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control	SQL*Plus

ORADIM can set a password only when none was previously set. If a password has been previously set, then ORADIM can change it only by deleting and re-creating Oracle Database services. Now, ORADIM creates the Oracle Database service, Oracle VSS Writer service, and Oracle Scheduler service to run under the Oracle Home User account. If this account is a Local or a Domain User Account, then ORADIM prompts for the password for that account and accepts the same through stdin.

It is possible to specify both the Oracle Home User and its password using the -RUNAS osusr[/ospass] option to oradim. If the given osusr is different from the Oracle Home User, then the Oracle Home User is used instead of osusr along with the given ospass.
User Migration Utility can migrate local or external users to enterprise users.

For more information, see "Using the User Migration Utility" in Oracle Database Enterprise User Security Administrator's Guide.
Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1), and Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) are supported for Oracle Database Upgrade Assistant upgrades in Oracle Database 19c. Oracle Database Upgrade Assistant can also be used to apply patch sets.
Data Pump Export and Data Pump Import are preferred for Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) and later data; Export and Import are preferred for earlier data.
If you back up files while you are shutting down the database, then your backup is invalid. You cannot use an invalid backup to restore files at a later date.
You cannot use earlier versions of Oracle Wallet Manager to manage Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) and later wallets that contain password-based credentials for authentication to Oracle Internet Directory. These credentials are placed in the wallet when an Oracle Database server is registered in Oracle Internet Directory.

The database wallet that Oracle Database Configuration Assistant automatically generates during database registration can be used only with Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1) or later. You cannot use this database wallet for earlier versions of the database, nor can you use it for Oracle Internet Directory Release 9.0.4 or earlier.