Backing up an Oracle database without RMAN
If you aren’t using RMAN for your backups (and are using something like Netapp’s snapshots, or the simple copy-command) (in Oracle 9i this can only be done when the Database is in mounted-mode, not opened), you can do this:
Note: Archivelog must be enabled for this to work.
ALTER DATABASE BEGIN BACKUP;
At this point, you can begin copying/taking snapshots. When you’re done:
ALTER DATABASE END BACKUP;
In older databases, you’ll have to use (run for every tablespace):
ALTER TABLESPACE tablespace_name BEGIN BACKUP; ALTER TABLESPACE tablespace_name END BACKUP;
Enabling Trace
The TRACE_ENABLED parameter allows you to trace the execution history of Oracle. It should be set to TRUE by default.
The information gathered is stored in the following locations:
#User: /usr/oracle/admin/sid/udump #Background: /usr/oracle/admin/sid/bdump #Core: /usr/oracle/admin/sid/cdump
These locations could be different depending on what’s set in your PFILE.
Check if trace is enabled:
SHOW parameter trace_enabled;
Sample output:
SQL> show parameter trace_enabled; NAME TYPE VALUE ------------------------- -------- -------------- trace_enabled BOOLEAN TRUE
And if it isn’t enabled, enable it using:
ALTER SYSTEM SET trace_enabled = TRUE;
Note: Prior to version Oracle 9i, this parameter was: _trace_enabled
Starting, stopping, and Status of Oracle Enterprise Manager (EM)
To start the Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control (from the command-line):
emctl start dbconsole
To get the status:
emctl status dbconsole
To stop the dbconsole
emctl stop dbconsole
To access the EM (with default settings):
http://hostname:5500/em
Create bevelled text
I might be superfluous in my method here, but it works well for me 
Add some text
Search through files for a string (Linux)
To search a directory recursively for specific text or a string, use:
find . -exec grep "string to find" '{}' \; -print
Synchronize Google Calendar on iPhone
Note: This should also work on the iPod Touch
iPhone OS 3.0 introduced support for CalDAV and ICS - that means it's really simple to sync with your Google Calendar:
Start by going into Settings:
Go into "Mail, Contacts, Calendars", then "Add account..."
Add a CalDAV account and fill the details:
If you check your calendar, it should sync
You can also add all your other calendars by adding a "Subscribed Calendar"
Start by going to the settings for the calendar you want to add:
Click on the "ICAL" link to get your Calendar's private address
It's usually a really long link, so start by putting it under your drafts or email it to yourself. Add another Calendar account (not a CalDAV this time, but a "subscribed Calendar" Then copy-and-paste into the Server input box specifying URL to the .ics file)
Creating a tunnel and SOCKS proxy with Putty
Why?
- Secure a public WiFi connection
- Bypass country-specific-content websites (e.g sites that only allow users from the U.S)
- Connect to a remotely-secured MySQL database via localhost
It's pretty easy to do in Linux (and I think the command is pretty much the same in MacOS or with cygwin installed):
ssh -L localport:hostname:remoteport username@Server
This is how to do it with Putty
Open Putty and enter in the basics: the Server and port (22):
Next, create the tunnel. Enter the source port (in this example, it's 3306 - a MySQL port) and leave the destination field empty (not always left blank, but it works for most cases)
The tunnel will be open/active as soon as you've logged in. Obviously, you still have to set up your proxy settings in whatever application you're using (for those who don't know, 127.0.0.1 is 'localhost'):
