Hello, I also like OMF , but .... Well, as usually , there are always pros and cons. Sometimes with OMF and /or ASM (but more globally, with system-generated filenames ) you face ugly situations if the restore goes wrong somewhere in the middle. Below is a true story, that me and my office collegue DBA have faced. He put it on http://www.orafaq.com/forum/t/184906/ In this case, OMF & ASM did not make our life easier. HTH Dragutin