ASMCMD File Management Commands

This topic provides a summary of the ASMCMD file management commands.

Table 10-57 lists the ASMCMD file management commands with brief descriptions.

Table 10-57 Summary of ASMCMD file management commands

Command	Description
amdu_extract	Extracts a file from a disk group.
cd	Changes the current directory to the specified directory.
cp	Enables you to copy files between disk groups, and between a disk group and the operating system.
du	Displays the total disk space occupied by files in the specified Oracle ASM directory and all of its subdirectories, recursively.
find	Lists the paths of all occurrences of the specified name (with wildcards) under the specified directory.
ls	Lists the contents of an Oracle ASM directory, the attributes of the specified file, or the names and attributes of all disk groups.
lsof	Lists the open files.
mkalias	Creates an alias for system-generated file names.
mkdir	Creates Oracle ASM directories.
pwd	Displays the path of the current Oracle ASM directory.
rm	Deletes the specified Oracle ASM files or directories.
rmalias	Deletes the specified alias, retaining the file that the alias points to.

amdu_extract

Purpose

Extracts a file from a disk group.

Syntax and Description

amdu_extract diskgroup [--sys_filename] file_name disk_string

Table 10-58 Options for the amdu_extract command

Option	Description
diskgroup	Name of the disk group where the file is located.
--sys_filename	If this option is specified, then the file_name should point to the system Oracle ASM file name, not the file alias.
file_name	Name of the file to extract. The file name must be one of the following: An Oracle ASM alias name A system Oracle ASM filename if the --sys_filename option is specified The file name can be specified as an absolute or a relative path.
disk_string	Value for the Oracle ASM discovery disk string.

amdu_extract calls the Oracle ASM Metadata Dump Utility (AMDU) command to extract a file using an Oracle ASM alias name.

Example

The following is an example of the amdu_extract command used to extract a file from the data disk group.

Example 10-67 Using the ASMCMD amdu_extract command

ASMCMD> amdu_extract data data/orcl/my_alias_filename /devices/disk*

cd

Purpose

Changes the current directory to the specified directory.

Syntax and Description

cd [dir]

Table 10-59 lists the options for the cd command.

Table 10-59 Options for the cd command

Option	Description
dir	Name of the directory.

dir can be specified as either an absolute path or a relative path, including the . and .. pseudo-directories. dir can contain wildcard characters. See "Wildcard Characters".

Examples

The following are examples of the cd command changing into various directories.

Example 10-68 Using the ASMCMD cd command

ASMCMD [+data/hr] > cd +data/orcl

ASMCMD [+data/orcl] > cd DATAFILE

ASMCMD [+data/orcl/DATAFILE] >cd ..

cp

Purpose

Enables you to copy files between Oracle ASM disk groups and between a disk group and the operating system.

Syntax and Description

cp src_file [--target target_type] [--service service_name] [--port port_num] [connect_str:]tgt_file

The following table contains the syntax options for the cp command.

Table 10-60 Options for the cp command

Option	Description
--target target_type	Specifies the target type of the instance that ASMCMD must be connected to for the copy operation. Valid options are ASM, IOS, or APX.
--service service_name	Specifies the Oracle ASM instance name if not the default +ASM.
--port port_num	Specifies the listener port number. The default is 1521.
connect_str	Specifies the connection string for a remote instance.
src_file	Name of the source file to copy.
tgt_file	A user alias for the created target file name or an alias directory name.

cp cannot copy files between two remote instances. The local Oracle ASM instance must be either the source or the target of the operation.

You can use the cp command to:

• Copy files from a disk group to the operating system

• Copy files from a disk group to a disk group

• Copy files from the operating system to a disk group

Some file types cannot be the source or destination of the cp command. These file types include the OCR and SPFILE file types. To back up, copy, or move an Oracle ASM SPFILE, use the spbackup, spcopy, or spmove commands. To copy an OCR backup file type, the source must be from a disk group.

The format of copied files is portable between Little-Endian and Big-Endian systems if the files exist in an Oracle ASM disk group. Oracle ASM automatically converts the format when the files are written. For copying a non-Oracle ASM file from or to an Oracle ASM disk group, you can copy the file to a different endian platform and then use one of the commonly used utilities to convert the file.

connect_str is not required for a local instance copy, which is the default case. For a remote instance copy, you must specify the connect string and Oracle ASM prompts for a password in a non-echoing prompt. The connect_str is in the form:

[e-mail]

user, host, and SID are required in the connect_str parameter. The default port number is 1521 and can be changed with the --port option.

The connection privilege (SYSASM or SYSDBA) is determined by the use of the --privilege option when starting ASMCMD.

src_file must be either a fully qualified file name or an Oracle ASM alias.

During an ASMCMD copy process, the Oracle ASM server creates an Oracle Managed File (OMF) file in the following format:

diskgroup/db_unique_name/file_type/file_name.#.#

where db_uniq_name is set to ASM and # is a string of digits. In the copy process, ASMCMD cp creates the directory structure for the destination and creates a user alias from that location to the actual OMF file that is created.

Examples

The following are examples of the cp command. The first example shows a copy of a file in the data disk group to a file on the operating system. The second example shows a copy of a file on the operating system to the data disk group. The third example shows how to copy a file in the data disk group to a remote server. You are prompted to enter a password.

Example 10-69 Using the ASMCMD cp command

ASMCMD [+] > cp +data/orcl/datafile/EXAMPLE.265.691577295 /mybackups/example.bak
copying +data/orcl/datafile/EXAMPLE.265.691577295 -> /mybackups/example.bak

ASMCMD [+] >  cp /mybackups/examples.bak  +data/orcl/datafile/myexamples.bak
copying /mybackups/examples.bak -> +data/orcl/datafile/myexamples.bak

ASMCMD [+] > cp +data/orcl/datafile/EXAMPLE.265.691577295 sys@myserver.+ASM:/scratch/backup/myexamples.bak
Enter Password:

See Also:

• Specifying the Type of Connection for more information about connection options with ASMCMD

• Oracle Database Net Services Administrator's Guide for more information about connection strings

du

Purpose

Displays the total space used for files in the specified directory and in the entire directory tree under the directory.

Syntax and Description

du [--suppressheader] [dir]

Table 10-61 lists the syntax options for the du command.

Table 10-61 Options for the du command

Option	Description
dir	Name of the directory.
--suppressheader	Suppresses column headings from the output.

If you do not specify dir, then information about the current directory is displayed. dir can contain wildcard characters. See "Wildcard Characters".

The following two values are displayed, both in units of megabytes.

• Used_MB - This value does not include mirroring.

• Mirror_used_MB - This value includes mirroring.

For example, if a normal redundancy disk group contains 100 MB of data and each file in the disk group is 2-way mirrored, then Used_MB is 100 MB and Mirror_used_MB is roughly 200 MB.

Example

The following is an example of the du command. The example shows disk space used in the orcl directory in the data disk group, including all of the directories under the orcl directory.

Example 10-70 Using the ASMCMD du command

ASMCMD [+] > du data/orcl
Used_MB      Mirror_used_MB
   1756                3519

find

Purpose

Displays the absolute paths of all occurrences of the specified name pattern (with wildcards) in a specified directory and its subdirectories.

Syntax and Description

find [--type type] dir pattern

Table 10-62 lists the syntax options for the find command.

Table 10-62 Options for the find command

Option	Description
--type type	Type of target to find.
dir	Directory name where you want to start searching.
pattern	Name of a target or a wildcard pattern.

This command searches the specified directory and all subdirectories under it in the directory tree for the supplied pattern. The value used for pattern can be a directory name or a file name, and can include wildcard characters. See "Wildcard Characters".

The ASMCMD find command is case insensitive.

In the output of the command, directory names are suffixed with the slash character (/) to distinguish them from file names.

Use the --type flag to find all the files of a particular type (specified as type). For example, you can search for control files by specifying type as CONTROLFILE. Valid values for type are listed in Table 5-1. These are type values from the type column of the V$ASM_FILE view.

Examples

The following are examples of the find command. The first example searches the data disk group for files that begin with undo. The second example returns the absolute path of all the control files (--type CONTROLFILE) in the +data/orcl directory.

Example 10-71 Using the ASMCMD find command

ASMCMD [+] > find +data undo*
+data/ORCL/DATAFILE/UNDOTBS1.258.691577151

ASMCMD [+] >  find --type CONTROLFILE +data/orcl *
+data/orcl/CONTROLFILE/Current.260.691577263

ls

Purpose

Lists the contents of an Oracle ASM directory, the attributes of the specified file, or the names and attributes of all disk groups.

Syntax and Description

ls [--suppressheader] [-lsdtLg][--absolutepath][--reverse]
    [--permission][pattern]

Table 10-63 lists the syntax options for the ls command.

Table 10-63 Options for the ls command

Option	Description
(none)	Displays only file names and directory names.
-l	Displays extended file information, including striping and redundancy information and whether the file was system-generated (indicated by Y under the SYS column) or user-created (as with an alias, indicated by N under the SYS column). When used in the "ls -l +" command, displays directory information. Not all possible file attributes or disk group attributes are included. To view the complete set of column values for a file or a disk group, query the V$ASM_FILE and V$ASM_DISKGROUP views.
-s	Displays file space information.
-d	If the value for the pattern argument is a directory, then ls displays information about that directory, rather than the directory contents. Typically used with another flag, such as the -l flag.
--reverse	Reverses the sort order of the listing.
-t	Sorts the listing by timestamp (latest first) instead of by name.
-L	If the value for the pattern argument is an alias, then ASMCMD displays information about the file that it references. Typically used with another flag, such as the -l flag.
--absolutepath	For each listed file, displays the absolute path of the alias that references it, if any.
-g	GV$ASM_DISKGROUP.INST_ID is included in the output.
--suppressheader	Suppresses column headings.
--permission	Shows the permissions of a file (V$ASM_FILE.permission, V$ASM_FILE.owner, V$ASM_FILE.usergroup, V$ASM_ALIAS.name).
pattern	Name of a file, directory, or a pattern.

Command options enable you to modify and customize the output of the command. Table 10-63 lists the options and their descriptions. For disk group information, this command queries the V$ASM_DISKGROUP_STAT view by default. If you specify all of the options, then the command shows a union of their attributes, with duplicates removed. If you enter ls +, the top level directory structure is displayed.

pattern can be a file name, directory name, or a pattern including wildcard characters. See "Wildcard Characters".

• If pattern is a directory name, then ls lists the contents of the directory and depending on flag settings, ls also lists information about each directory member. Directories are listed with a trailing slash (/) to distinguish them from files.

• If the value that you enter for pattern is a file name, then ls lists the file and depending on the flag settings, ls also lists information about the file. The file must be located in the current directory if the file name is specified with a relative path.

Examples

The following are examples of the ls command that display various information about directories and the contents of the directories.

Example 10-72 Using the ASMCMD ls command

ASMCMD [+] > ls +data/orcl/datafile
EXAMPLE.265.691577295
SYSAUX.257.691577149
SYSTEM.256.691577149
UNDOTBS1.258.691577151
USERS.259.691577151

ASMCMD [+] > ls -lt +data/orcl/datafile
Type      Redund  Striped  Time             Sys  Name
DATAFILE  MIRROR  COARSE   JUL 13 08:00:00  Y    EXAMPLE.265.691577295
DATAFILE  MIRROR  COARSE   JUL 13 05:00:00  Y    SYSAUX.257.691577149
DATAFILE  MIRROR  COARSE   JUL 13 02:00:00  Y    USERS.259.691577151
DATAFILE  MIRROR  COARSE   JUL 13 02:00:00  Y    UNDOTBS1.258.691577151
DATAFILE  MIRROR  COARSE   JUL 13 02:00:00  Y    SYSTEM.256.691577149

ASMCMD [+] > ls -l +data/orcl/datafile/sy*
Type      Redund  Striped  Time             Sys  Name
DATAFILE  MIRROR  COARSE   JUL 13 05:00:00  Y    SYSAUX.257.691577149
DATAFILE  MIRROR  COARSE   JUL 13 02:00:00  Y    SYSTEM.256.691577149

ASMCMD [+] > ls -s  +data/orcl/datafile
Block_Size  Blocks      Bytes       Space  Name
      8192   12801  104865792   214958080  EXAMPLE.265.691577295
      8192   88321  723525632  1452277760  SYSAUX.257.691577149
      8192   88321  723525632  1452277760  SYSTEM.256.691577149
      8192    7681   62922752   131072000  UNDOTBS1.258.691577151
      8192     641    5251072    12582912  USERS.259.691577151

ASMCMD [+] > ls --permission  +data/orcl/datafile
User  Group  Permission  Name
              rw-rw-rw-  EXAMPLE.265.691577295
              rw-rw-rw-  SYSAUX.257.691577149
              rw-rw-rw-  SYSTEM.256.691577149
              rw-rw-rw-  UNDOTBS1.258.691577151
              rw-rw-rw-  USERS.259.691577151

lsof

Purpose

Lists the open files of the local clients.

Syntax and Description

lsof [--suppressheader] {-G diskgroup|--dbname db| -C instance}

Table 10-64 lists the syntax options for the lsof command.

Table 10-64 Options for the lsof command

Option	Description
--suppressheader	Suppresses column headings.
-G diskgroup	List files only from the specified disk group.
--dbname db	List files only from the specified database.
-C instance	List files only from the specified instance.

Example

The following are examples of the lsof command. The first example lists the open files for the data disk group. The second example lists the open files for the Oracle ASM instance.

Example 10-73 Using the ASMCMD lsof command

ASMCMD [+] > lsof -G data
DB_Name  Instance_Name  Path                                          
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/controlfile/current.260.691577263  
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/datafile/example.265.691577295     
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/datafile/sysaux.257.691577149      
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/datafile/system.256.691577149      
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/datafile/undotbs1.258.691577151    
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/datafile/users.259.691577151       
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/onlinelog/group_1.261.691577267    
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/onlinelog/group_2.262.691577271    
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/onlinelog/group_3.263.691577275    
orcl     orcl           +data/orcl/tempfile/temp.264.691577287 

ASMCMD [+] > lsof -C +ASM 
DB_Name  Instance_Name  Path
asmvol   +ASM           +data/VOLUME1.271.679226013
asmvol   +ASM           +data/VOLUME2.272.679227351

mkalias

Purpose

Creates an alias for the specified system-generated file name.

Syntax and Description

mkalias file alias

Table 10-65 lists the syntax options for the mkalias command.

Table 10-65 Options for the mkalias command

Option	Description
file	System-generated file name.
alias	Alias for the file name.

alias must be in the same disk group as the system-generated file. Only one alias is permitted for each Oracle ASM file.

Example

The following example creates the sysaux.f alias for the fully qualified file name +data/orcl/DATAFILE/SYSAUX.257.721811945. Following the mkalias command, ls --absolutepath is run to check the results.

Example 10-74 Using the ASMCMD mkalias command

ASMCMD [+data/orcl/datafile] > mkalias SYSAUX.257.721811945 sysaux.f

ASMCMD [+data/orcl/datafile] > ls --absolutepath
none => EXAMPLE.265.721812093
+DATA/ORCL/DATAFILE/sysaux.f => SYSAUX.257.721811945
none => SYSTEM.256.721811945
none => UNDOTBS1.258.721811945
none => USERS.259.721811947
sysaux.f

mkdir

Purpose

Creates Oracle ASM directories under the current directory.

Syntax and Description

mkdir dir [dir . . .]

Table 10-66 lists the syntax options for the mkdir command.

Table 10-66 Options for the mkdir command

Option	Description
dir	Directory name to create.

The directory from which mkdir is run can be a system-created or user-created directory. You cannot create a directory at the root (+) level.

Example

The following is an example of the mkdir command. The example creates the directories subdir1 and subdir2 at the disk group level in the disk group data.

Example 10-75 Using the ASMCMD mkdir command

ASMCMD [+data] > mkdir subdir1 subdir2

ASMCMD [+data] > ls
ASM/
ORCL/
subdir1/
subdir2/

pwd

Purpose

Displays the absolute path of the current directory.

Syntax and Description

pwd

Example

The following is an example of the pwd command. The example displays the current directory.

Example 10-76 Using the ASMCMD pwd command

ASMCMD [+data/orcl/datafile] > pwd
+data/orcl/datafile

rm

Purpose

Deletes the specified Oracle ASM files and directories.

Syntax and Description

rm [-f|-r] pattern [pattern...]

Table 10-67 lists the syntax options for the rm command.

Table 10-67 Options for the rm command

Option	Description
-r	Recursively deletes files and subdirectories.
-f	Deletes files and subdirectories without prompting for confirmation.
pattern	Name of a file, directory, or wildcard pattern.

If pattern is a file or alias, then the rm command can delete the file or alias only if it is not currently in use. If pattern is a directory, then the rm command can delete it only if it is empty (unless the -r flag is used) and it is not a system-generated directory. If pattern is an alias, then the rm command deletes both the alias and the file to which the alias refers. To delete only an alias and retain the file that the alias references, use the rmalias command.

Note:

When you delete all of the files in a system-created directory, the directory is removed. If the parent directories are empty, all of the parent directories are also removed.

pattern can contain wildcard characters. See "Wildcard Characters".

If you use a wildcard, the rm command deletes all of the matches except nonempty directories, unless you use the -r flag. To recursively delete, use the -r flag. With -r option you can delete a nonempty directory, including all files and directories in it and in the entire directory tree underneath it. If you use the -r flag or a wildcard character, then the rm command prompts you to confirm the deletion before proceeding, unless you specify the -f flag.If a wildcard character matches an alias or a system-generated file that has an alias, then both the alias and the system-generated file that it references are deleted. When using the -r flag to delete an alias that matches a wildcard pattern, either the alias or the system-generated file that has an alias must be present in the directory in which you run the rm command.

For example, if you have a user alias, +data/dir1/file.alias that points to +data/orcl/DATAFILE/System.256.146589651, then running the rm -r +data/dir1 command removes the +data/dir1/file.alias and +data/orcl/DATAFILE/System.256.146589651.

Example

The following are examples of the rm command. The first example deletes the myexamples.bak file. The second example removes the subdir2 directory and its contents.

Example 10-77 Using the ASMCMD rm command

ASMCMD [+data/orcl/datafile] > rm myexamples.bak

ASMCMD [+data] > rm -r subdir2
You may delete multiple files and/or directories. 
Are you sure? (y/n) y

rmalias

Purpose

Removes the specified aliases, retaining the files that the aliases reference.

Syntax and Description

rmalias [-r] alias [alias...]

Table 10-68 lists the syntax options for the rmalias command.

Table 10-68 Options for the rmalias command

Option	Description
-r	Recursively removes aliases.
alias	Alias for the file name or directory.

The -r flag enables you to remove all of the aliases in the current directory and in the entire directory tree beneath the current directory. If any user-created directories become empty after deleting aliases, they are also deleted. Files and directories created by the system are not deleted.

Example

The following is an example of the rmalias command. The example deletes the alias sysaux.f, retaining the data file that it references.

Example 10-78 Using the ASMCMD rmalias command

ASMCMD [+data/orcl/datafile] > rmalias sysaux.f