Oracle

Oracle is supported as a source database in MigratorXpress. It supports both thin and thick client modes and uses Rowid-based parallel transfers for large tables.

Connection Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
ds_type	Yes	Must be "oracle"
auth_mode	Yes	Must be "classic" (the only mode supported for Oracle)
username	Yes	Oracle username
password	Yes	Oracle password
server	Yes	Hostname or IP address
port	Yes	Port number, as a JSON integer (usually 1521)
database	Yes	Service name (connections use service_name; SIDs are not supported)
lib_dir	No	Oracle Instant Client directory (thick mode only)

Thin vs Thick Mode

Thin Mode (Recommended):

• No Oracle client libraries required on the machine running MigratorXpress.
• Requires Oracle 12.1 or later.
• Omit the lib_dir parameter.

Thick Mode:

• Required for Oracle 11.2 and earlier.
• Requires Oracle Instant Client installed locally.
• Set lib_dir to the Instant Client directory path.

Required Permissions

Grant SELECT_CATALOG_ROLE to enable parallel Rowid-based transfers and metadata discovery:

-- As Oracle DBA (e.g., sys as sysdba)
GRANT SELECT_CATALOG_ROLE TO your_username;

This role provides access to data dictionary views needed for Rowid range partitioning and transfer method selection.

Example: Thin Mode

{
  "oracle_prod": {
    "ds_type": "oracle",
    "auth_mode": "classic",
    "info": {
      "username": "migrator",
      "password": "********",
      "server": "oracle-prod.company.com",
      "port": 1521,
      "database": "PRODPDB"
    }
  }
}

Example: Thick Mode

{
  "oracle_legacy": {
    "ds_type": "oracle",
    "auth_mode": "classic",
    "info": {
      "username": "migrator",
      "password": "********",
      "server": "oracle-11g.company.com",
      "port": 1521,
      "database": "LEGACY",
      "lib_dir": "/opt/oracle/instantclient_19_8"
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

ORA-12154: TNS could not resolve connect identifier: Verify the service name in the database field (MigratorXpress connects with host:port/service_name, so TNS aliases from tnsnames.ora are not used). Try using the IP address instead of the hostname and confirm the Oracle listener is running (lsnrctl status).

ORA-28000: account is locked:

ALTER USER your_username ACCOUNT UNLOCK;

Thick mode library not found: Verify that the lib_dir path exists and contains the Instant Client shared libraries. Confirm Oracle Instant Client is installed and check file permissions. On Linux, you may also need to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/oracle/instantclient_19_8:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

See Also

• Database Connections Overview -- Auth file format and security best practices