How to export Oracle database as system user with os authentication?

Question

User oracle is configured with os authentication and logged in as oracle.

I am trying to to take full db export using the following expression:

exp 'system/as sysdba' file='full_exp.dmp' log='full_exp.log' consistent='y'

but getting error:

LRM-00108: Invalid positional parameter value 'sysdba'

Also tried with:

exp 'system' file='full_exp.dmp' log='full_exp.log' consistent='y'

Asks for password for system and empty password doesn't work, throws errors EXP-00004, EXP-00056 and ORA-01017 .

Please guide me in taking full db export by os authenticated user.

Answer 1

Doing a full export "as sysdba" is a bad idea - a major security risk (plus "system" doesn't have the sysdba privilege by default anyway). You are better off defining a user with exp_full_database and/or datapump_exp_full_database privileges only, with OS authentication or with an Oracle Wallet to hold the credentials, and using that account to run the full export.

create user export_user identified by [password];
grant create session, exp_full_database, datapump_exp_full_database to export_user;

There is a reference on my blog on how to set up an Oracle Wallet for the credentials. Then your expdp or exp command would look like this:

exp export_user file='full_exp.dmp' ...

or

expdp export_user directory=export_dir ...

Last - seriously consider using Datapump (expdp) rather than the old-school "export" utility (exp). Newer versions of Oracle include object types that export doesn't support, and Datapump is generally faster and more flexible in terms of options.

Answer 2

To use Oracle OS authentification for a non SYSDBA connection, you just need to connect with the OS account that is mapped to the Oracle account and use / as user/password:

sqlplus /
expdp / ...

See details for Unix and Windows in https://oracle-base.com/articles/misc/os-authentication