RE: How to copy a database

Why use SQL:UNLOAD or dbexport, which both need filesystem space large enough to hold your data? Simply use tbunload (v5.x)/onunload (v7.x) to a tape device and then tbload/onload into the test area. This can be done across the network to another machine, across instances of Online, or locally on the production server. The only draw-back I can think of is that during the unload process, your database will be locked exclusively. You may even use the filesystem by 'touch'ing a file and using its name as the tape device on the command line. Try this: cd /tmp mknode mypipe p # a named UNIX pipe ( FIFO ) echo "\\n" | onunload -t /tmp/mypipe -b 8192 -s some_large_number database_name & onload -t /tmp/mypipe -b 8192 -s same_number -d dbspace_name database_name Here you have a file, 'mypipe' that will act as a pipe between the unloader and the loader. This is somewhat slower than using a tape but requires very little filesystem space. Using tb/onunload and tb/onload is nearly always faster than any other method because they read and write informix pages in binary format, not rows!!! Kevin Brand