Migrating LONG RAW attribute columns in Oracle using ArcSDE commands

You can migrate LONG RAW nonspatial attribute columns to BLOB using the sdetable command with the migrate operation. This operation changes the storage of the attribute column from LONG RAW to BLOB by specifying a DBTUNE configuration keyword that has the ATTRIBUTE_BINARY parameter set to BLOB.

Tip:

You can also use sdetable to migrate all the LONG RAW columns in a table at once. For example, if you have a feature class that is using LONG RAW raster storage and LONG RAW for geometry storage and contains a binary attribute column of LONG RAW, when you use sdetable, all three columns are converted based on the parameters set in the configuration keyword you specify with the –k option. As long as the specified configuration keyword contains an ATTRIBUTE_BINARY parameter set to BLOB, a GEOMETRY_STORAGE parameter set to SDELOB or ST_GEOMETRY, and a RASTER_STORAGE parameter set to BLOB or ST_RASTER, all column data types are converted.

The syntax for sdetable –o migrate is as follows:

sdetable –o migrate –t <table> –k <config_keyword> 
[–i {<service> | <direct_connection>}] [–s <server>] –u <user_name> 
[–p <user_password>] [–N] [–q]

Use the options as follows:

Option	Description
–o	This option indicates the operation being performed; in this case, migrate.
–t	Use this option to specify the name of the table containing the column (or columns) to be migrated.
–k	This option designates the DBTUNE configuration keyword for the geometry storage type to which you are migrating the feature class. The keyword must contain a GEOMETRY_STORAGE parameter set to either SDELOB or ST_GEOMETRY in Oracle databases or GEOMETRY or GEOGRAPHY in SQL Server databases.
–i	Provide either your direct connection syntax or the port number or name of the ArcSDE service you use to connect to the geodatabase. See Direct connections from ArcSDE commands to a geodatabase in Oracle or Direct connections from ArcSDE commands to a geodatabase in SQL Server for direct connection syntax.
–s	Specify the name of the server on which the database resides.
–u	Specify the user name of the feature class owner to log into the database.
–p	Specify the password of the user.
–N	Specify this option if you want to suppress the prompt to confirm the operation.
–q	Specify this option if you want to suppress all titles and warnings.

You will receive an error message when you execute the sdelayer command with the migrate operation if any of the following are true:

• The data is stored in basic precision.
• The user specified with –u is not the table owner.
• The existing storage type of the feature class and the specified DBTUNE keyword are identical. (In other words, the table is already using the storage type you specified with the keyword; therefore, no migration is necessary.)
• The business table does not contain an object ID field.
• You try to use the migrate operation in an ArcSDE geodatabase previous to 9.2.
• You try to use the migrate operation in a DBMS other than Oracle or SQL Server.
• You try to migrate an SDO_Geometry feature class that contains 3D features. Since Oracle Spatial does not support generating well-known binary or well-known text from 3D Oracle spatial geometry, this data cannot be migrated using the sdelayer command.

Steps:

1. Create a backup of the data to be migrated.

   Creating a backup copy of the data you migrate ensures that, if migration fails for any reason, you still have your original data.

2. Open a DOS command prompt (Windows) or shell (UNIX or Linux).
3. Execute the sdetable command with the migrate operation. For example:

   sdetable –o migrate –t owners –k DEFAULTS 
   –i 68910 –s mainserver –u bjar –p mine.all.mine

   Be sure to specify a configuration keyword that contains the ATTRIBUTE_BINARY value to which you want to convert your data.