Determine Endian Format When Migration Oracle Database Across OS Platform

When migrating Oracle Database to different platform , first of all you should check your endian format for both platforms (old and new ). You can determine via sqlplus with below command.


SQL> COLUMN PLATFORM_NAME FORMAT A32
SQL> SELECT * FROM V$TRANSPORTABLE_PLATFORM;

PLATFORM_ID PLATFORM_NAME                    ENDIAN_FORMAT
----------- -------------------------------- --------------
          1 Solaris[tm] OE (32-bit)          Big
          2 Solaris[tm] OE (64-bit)          Big
          7 Microsoft Windows IA (32-bit)    Little
         10 Linux IA (32-bit)                Little
          6 AIX-Based Systems (64-bit)       Big
          3 HP-UX (64-bit)                   Big
          5 HP Tru64 UNIX                    Little
          4 HP-UX IA (64-bit)                Big
         11 Linux IA (64-bit)                Little
         15 HP Open VMS                      Little
          8 Microsoft Windows IA (64-bit)    Little
          9 IBM zSeries Based Linux          Big
         13 Linux 64-bit for AMD             Little
         16 Apple Mac OS                     Big
         12 Microsoft Windows 64-bit for AMD Little
         17 Solaris Operating System (x86)   Little

If you are not sure ;
You can use this command on unix shell

echo I | tr -d [:space:] | od -to2 | head -n1 | awk '{print $2}' | cut -c6

IF return 0  ->  Big Endian
IF return 1  ->  Little Endian

After determination endian format , you can choose your methodology for migration operation.Check Oracle Support Note:Migration Of An Oracle Database Across OS Platforms (Generic Platform) (Doc ID 733205.1)