IMP-00010 not a valid export file header failed verification , IMP-00000:

While performing an exp/imp operation , i got IMP-00010 while importing the dumps .On googling i found that this error occur generally due to two reasons .

1.) File Corrupted During Transfer.
Note : FTP should be done in BINARY MODE

2.) When export dump file is higher version and import in lower version.
e.g; exp dump file is Oracle 10g and import in Oracle 9i

Export From            <---->   Import to   <----> Use Import/Export Utility
Version : 10.2.0.1.0 <----->   10.1.0.2.0   <----->   10.1.0.2.0
Version : 10.2.0.1.0 <----->   9.2              <----->   9.2
Version : 10.2.0.1.0 <----->   9.0.1           <----->   9.0.1

Note : Suppose we want to import 10.2.0.1.0 export dump file in 9.2.0 then we must use 9.2.0 export tools for export data from 10.2.0.1.0. and run CATEXP.SQL script which is located in Located : $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin

Consider an example : Dumpfile exported in Oracle 11gr1  and has to be Imported  in 10gr1, 9i. Then use Oracle 11gr1 client (IMPORT) binary to export 11g dumpfile. Install oracle 11g client and connect to 10g,9i,8i server and import .

Enjoy     :-) 

Block Developers Tools on Production Database

I have come across a very good post on how to prevent users from using additional tools to connect to production database. This can also allow us to connect for specific users only. This can be done by creating the a AFTER LOGON trigger create ON DATABASE .Below is the script 

c:\> sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL> CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER block_tools_from_prod
          AFTER LOGON ON DATABASE
DECLARE
           v_prog sys.v_$session.program%TYPE;
BEGIN
         SELECT   program    INTO   v_prog
         FROM     sys.v_$session
         WHERE    audsid = USERENV('SESSIONID')
         AND   audsid != 0          ---- Don't Check SYS Connections
        AND  ROWNUM = 1;    ---- Parallel processes will have the same AUDSID's
      IF UPPER(v_prog) LIKE '%TOAD%' OR UPPER(v_prog) LIKE '%T.O.A.D%' OR   -- Toad
      UPPER(v_prog) LIKE '%SQLNAV%' OR     -- SQL Navigator
      UPPER(v_prog) LIKE '%PLSQLDEV%' OR -- PLSQL Developer
      UPPER(v_prog) LIKE '%BUSOBJ%' OR   -- Business Objects
      UPPER(v_prog) LIKE '%EXCEL%'       -- MS-Excel plug-in
  THEN
     RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR(-20000, 'Development tools are not allowed here.');
  END IF;
END;
/

Reference : http://psoug.org/snippet.htm/Block_TOAD_and_other_tools_516.htm


Enjoy    :-)

Determine OS block size for Linux and Windows

A block is a uniformly sized unit of data storage for a filesystem. Block size can be an important consideration when setting up a system that is designed for maximum performance. 

Block size in Linux :  If we want to confirm the block size of any filesystem of Ubuntu or any other Linux OS, tune2fs command is here to help:

ubuntu# tune2fs -l /dev/sda1 | grep Block
Block count:              4980736
Block size:                 4096
Blocks per group:       32768

From this example, we can see that the default block size for the filesystem on  /dev/sda1 partition is 4096 bytes, or 4k. That's the default block size for ext3 filesystem.

OS block size in Solaris : 

$perl -e '$a=(stat ".")[11]; print $a'
8192

or 
$df -g | grep 'block size' 

Block size in Window Machine  : If  OS  is using ntfs system use the below command  :

C:\>fsutil fsinfo ntfsinfo D:
NTFS Volume Serial Number :        0x7a141d52141d12ad
Version :                                          3.1
Number Sectors :                            0x00000000036b17d0
Total Clusters :                                0x00000000006d62fa
Free Clusters  :                               0x00000000001ed190
Total Reserved :                             0x0000000000000170
Bytes Per Sector  :                         512
Bytes Per Cluster :                     4096   <<===   (block size)
Bytes Per FileRecord Segment       : 1024
Clusters Per FileRecord Segment   : 0
Mft Valid Data Length :                    0x0000000005b64000
Mft Start Lcn  :                                 0x00000000000c0000
Mft2 Start Lcn :                                0x000000000036b17d
Mft Zone Start :                                0x000000000043c9c0
Mft Zone End   :                               0x000000000044b460

or we can also find the block size as : 

--> Go to "My Computer"   --> manage --> Disk Defragmenter --> select any disk -->  click on "analyze" button , then it will present us a report and in that report "Cluster Size" represents the  OS "Block Size".

Enjoy   :-)