How to Move or Copy a Tablespace to Another Database (61)

To move or copy a set of tablespaces, you must make the tablespaces read only, copy
the datafiles of these tablespaces, and use export/import to move the database
information (metadata) stored in the data dictionary. Both the datafiles and the
metadata export file must be copied to the target database. The transport of these files
can be done using any facility for copying flat files, such as the operating system
copying facility, ftp, or publishing on CDs.
After copying the datafiles and importing the metadata, you can optionally put the
tablespaces in read/write mode.
The first time a tablespace’s datafiles are opened under Oracle Database with the
COMPATIBLE initialization parameter set to 10 or higher, each file identifies the
platform to which it belongs. These files have identical on disk formats for file header
blocks, which are used for file identification and verification. Read only and offline
files get the compatibility advanced after they are made read/write or are brought
online. This implies that tablespaces that are read only prior to Oracle Database 10g
must be made read/write at least once before they can use the cross platform
transportable feature.
Note: In a database with a locally managed SYSTEM tablespace,
dictionary tablespaces cannot be created. It is possible to plug in a
dictionary managed tablespace using the transportable feature, but it
cannot be made writable.[@more@]