Required Roles for Data Pump Export and Import Operations

Many Data Pump Export and Import operations require the user to have the DATAPUMP_EXP_FULL_DATABASE role and/or the DATAPUMP_IMP_FULL_DATABASE role. These roles are automatically defined for Oracle databases when you run the standard scripts that are part of database creation. (Note that although the names of these roles contain the word FULL, these roles actually apply to any privileged operations in any export or import mode, not only Full mode.)

The DATAPUMP_EXP_FULL_DATABASE role affects only export operations. The DATAPUMP_IMP_FULL_DATABASE role affects import operations and operations that use the Import SQLFILE parameter. These roles allow users performing exports and imports to do the following:

• Perform the operation outside the scope of their schema

• Monitor jobs that were initiated by another user

• Export objects (such as tablespace definitions) and import objects (such as directory definitions) that unprivileged users cannot reference

These are powerful roles. Database administrators should use caution when granting these roles to users.

Although the SYS schema does not have either of these roles assigned to it, all security checks performed by Data Pump that require these roles also grant access to the SYS schema.