Chapter 10. Advanced Data Pump

Many people don't know about several powerful functionalities that are available when using Data Pump (expdp/impdp). Most of the people only use these tools to export and import data (in other words, only to move data), and never notice that it can be used, for example, to help us to do:

• Data masking

• Build a metadata repository

• Create a version control

• Work with different object editions in a database

• Clone users (create a new user using an existent user as a template)

• Create smaller copies of production

• Create your database in a different file structure

• Move all objects from one tablespace to another

• Move an object to a different schema (a simple example, change a table owner)

• Migrate data for a database upgrade

• Downgrade an Oracle database

• Transport a tablespace

• Use Data Pump with Flashback

As you can see, Data Pump is very flexible; now let's see how each of the examples that I have mentioned here can be used in real life.