Backup and restore operations between different operating systems and hardware platforms

Db2® database systems support some backup, restore, and rollforward operations between different operating systems and hardware platforms.

The supported platforms for Db2 backup, restore, and rollforward operations can be grouped into one of three families:
  • Big-endian Linux® and UNIX
  • Little-endian Linux and UNIX
  • Windows

A database backup from one platform family can only be restored and rolled forward on any system within the same platform family.

The following table shows each of the Linux and UNIX platforms Db2 supports and indicates whether the platforms are big endian or little endian:
Table 1. Endianness of supported Linux and UNIX operating systems Db2 supports
Platforms Support Restrictions Endianness
AIX®   Big endian
HP on IA64 Only supported for Db2 version 10.5 images or lower Big endian
Linux on zSeries   Big endian
Linux on IBM® Power Systems Only supported for Db2 version 10.5 images or lower Big endian
Linux on IBM Power Systems for Little Endian   Little endian
Linux on IA-64   Little endian
Linux on AMD64 and Intel EM64T   Little endian
32-bit Linux on x86 Only supported for Db2 version 10.5 images or lower Little endian
Note: A backup from a newer version of Db2 cannot be restored into an earlier version of Db2. A backup from an earlier version of Db2 can be restored into a later version of Db2 (an UPGRADE operation will be triggered automatically at the end of the restore operation to update the database to the current version). For example, you cannot restore a Db2 Version 10.5 backup into a Db2 Version 10.1 database system. However, you can restore a Db2 Version 10.1 backup into a Db2 Version 10.5 database system (please see Planning to upgrade Db2 servers for pre-requisites and tasks required to achieve successful upgrades). A Rollforward operation through recovery log files that were generated on an earlier version of Db2 is not supported. Please see Recovering Through a Database Upgrade for more details on recovering through database upgrade operations. Please see Compatibility between DB2 for LUW Version 11.1 Mod-Packs and Fix-Packs for details of backup, restore, and rollforward support through modification packs.
Note: You can restore a database from a backup image that was taken on a 32-bit level into a 64-bit level, but not reversibly. The Db2 backup and restore utilities should be used to back up and restore your databases. Moving a file set from one machine to another is not recommended as this can compromise the integrity of the database.
In situations where certain backup and restore combinations are not allowed, you can move tables between Db2 databases using other methods:
  • The db2move command
  • The export command followed by the import or the load command
Note: Database configuration parameters are set to their defaults if the values in the backup are outside of the allowable range for the environment in which the database is being restored.