Using scp command on Linux to copy Files and Directories

DBAs need to move files from one host to the other in Linux environment. In this article, I would explain how to use scp (secure copy) command to copy files or directories from one host to the other.

Currently I am on 192.168.20.20 (MYDBSERVER is the hostname in this case) and I have a file /u01/oracle.tar on second host 192.168.20.30 that I want to transfer to /u01 on my current host,
192.168.20.20. On current host I am connected as user “salman” and “oracle” is the user on remote host 192.168.20.30 that I will use to connect to remote host for this copy operation.

[salman@MYDBSERVER /] cd /u01 [salman@MYDBSERVER u01]$  scp oracle@192.168.20.30:/u01/oracle.tar /u01/ The authenticity of host '192.168.20.30 (192.168.20.30)' can't be established. RSA key fingerprint is ce:dd:13:2d:ac:96:a1:cd:52:9e:f3:b4:03:ea:2d:25. Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes Warning: Permanently added '192.168.20.30 ‘(RSA) to the list of k//nown hosts. oracle@192.168.20.30's password: oracle.tar                                                                                                                            100% 3268MB  26.4MB/s   02:04

To copy whole directory, use –r option. In the following example, I will copy wole directory /u01/backup from 192.168.20.30 to the current directory (/u01) on current host 192.168.20.20. to specify current directory on current server, use “.”.

[salman@MYDBSERVER u01]$  scp -r oracle@192.168.20.30:/u01/backup  .