• Pradip
• 16 Dec, 2025
• 0 Comments
• 7 Mins Read

Migrating from Oracle Wallet to Oracle Key Vault

Migrating from Oracle Wallet to Oracle Key Vault: Complete Guide

Migrating from local Oracle wallets to a centralized Oracle Key Vault (OKV) is a best-practice step for enterprises that want stronger key governance, centralized auditing, high availability, and easier key lifecycle management for TDE, SSL/TLS, Java keystores, and other secrets. This guide walks you through why to migrate, what to prepare, exact steps (with example commands), post-migration checks, rollback options, and an operational checklist for production readiness. Where helpful, I cite Oracle documentation for the authoritative steps and recommendations.

TL;DR — What this guide delivers

• Why move from Oracle Wallet to OKV (benefits & risks).

• Pre-migration checklist and environment validation.

• Two supported migration approaches: Upload (backup-style) and Migrate (direct TDE master key migration).

• Step-by-step commands and example workflows (including Data Guard notes).

• Post-migration verification, testing, and rollback strategies.

• FAQs and a production readiness checklist.

Why migrate to Oracle Key Vault?

Key reasons teams migrate from local Oracle wallets to OKV:

• Centralized key & secrets management across many databases and applications (TDE keys, wallets, Java keystores, SSL certs, SSH keys).

• High availability and durability: OKV supports clustered deployments and HA options (better than single-server wallets).

• Stronger auditing & access control for who accessed or downloaded keys, and full lifecycle features (retire, rotate, version).

• Integration with HSMs and KMIP: OKV can work with HSM-backed keys and KMIP compatible clients in enterprise setups.

Risks to consider: migration introduces operational steps that if done incorrectly can render a database unable to open (TDE) — test thoroughly in non-production first.

High-level migration approaches

1. Upload (backup) the existing wallet to OKV — stores a copy of the wallet and its historical keys/objects in OKV. Good when you want to keep the wallet as-is in place but back it up centrally. Recommended as a safe first step.

2. Migrate TDE master key to OKV (ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT MIGRATE) — moves the TDE master key usage to OKV such that the database will request the master key from OKV at runtime. This is the standard route for moving active TDE keys into centralized management.

Both approaches can be combined: upload the wallet first for backup, then perform the migrate operation.

Pre-migration checklist (must-do)

1. Read OKV docs & match versions — ensure your OKV version supports your Oracle Database release. Use the OKV Installation/Upgrade and Administrator guides.

2. Inventory wallets/keystores — list all wallets, TDE master keys, Java keystores, and credential files that you plan to move.

3. Back up current wallets and database backups — RMAN backup + file system copy of wallet; keep at least 2 copies in secure offline storage.

4. Create OKV users & roles — ensure Key Vault has users/roles with appropriate privileges to upload and migrate objects.

5. Network and firewall — ensure DB servers can connect to OKV on required ports (OKV management and KMIP/TDE endpoints).

6. Test connectivity — from a test DB server, confirm okvutil (or network connectivity) can reach OKV and authenticate.

7. Maintenance window & rollback plan — schedule downtime if needed and prepare the plan to restore local wallet if migration fails.

8. Test in lower environment — fully simulate the migration in QA/staging using copies of production wallets and DBs.

Required tools & permissions

• okvutil utility (shipped with OKV/client software) for uploading and performing operations.

• SQL*Plus or SQLcl to run ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT commands on the database (requires appropriate DBA privileges).

• OS user with access to wallet files (or root/DBA as appropriate) to read and upload wallets/files.

• OKV administrative user or key-management user who can receive uploaded objects or perform migration.

Step-by-step: Uploading an existing wallet to OKV (safe first step)

Purpose: create a central copy of the wallet (includes historical keys). This is NOT yet changing where the DB fetches master keys from.

1. Prepare the wallet on the database server — ensure wallet files are accessible. Example local wallet path: /u01/app/oracle/admin/ORCL/wallet.

2. Use okvutil upload to upload wallet content to OKV. Example (run on DB server or client with okvutil configured):

3. Confirm upload in OKV console — verify wallet objects appear in the Key Vault UI under security objects. Oracle recommends uploading before migration so you have a full backup in OKV.

4. Optional: keep the local wallet until you perform the migrate operation and validate success. Once satisfied, you may delete local copies per policy (ensure secure deletion).

Step-by-step: Migrate TDE master key to OKV (the actual migration)

This step makes the database use the OKV-hosted master encryption key (online master key). Test first.

1. Configure Oracle Database to talk to OKV (create an OKV wallet or configure TDE keystore connection). For modern DB versions, you use an online master key connection to OKV. See OKV docs for the configuration file and parameters.

2. SQL*Plus command — MIGRATE (example):

-- connect as SYSDBA
CONNECT / AS SYSDBA;

-- Migrate the TDE master key to OKV
ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT
MIGRATE
TO ORACLE_KEY_VAULT
IDENTIFIED BY "okv_connect_string"
[WITH BACKUP];

Exact syntax depends on DB release — many environments use the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT command with MIGRATE subclause to migrate master keys to OKV. The command will transfer the current master key material and configure the database to use OKV.

3. Observe output & logs — the command should report success. Check database alert logs for any errors.

4. Close local wallet (optional) — once migrated and verified, close (and securely remove) local wallet files per your security policy. Oracle docs recommend deleting the wallet on the client system after successful migration, but only after verified backup in OKV.

Data Guard / Standby considerations

• Oracle supports migration in Data Guard environments. You can upload or migrate wallets in a Data Guard setup using okvutil and SQL*Plus. Typical pattern: upload wallet on primary, perform migration steps on primary and follow the documented steps for standby to close local wallets and configure OKV connections. See the OKV Data Guard section for exact sequence and special steps for different DB versions.

• Important: Follow the release-specific procedure in Oracle docs for your DB version (11gR2, 12c, 19c, etc.) because standby wallet behaviors and required ALTER SYSTEM operations may differ.

Post-migration verification & tests

1. Open database & validate TDE operations: confirm you can mount/open the database, and encrypted columns/tablespaces can be accessed. Run queries against encrypted objects.

2. Simulate restart & failover: restart the database and confirm it can fetch the master key from OKV and open cleanly. For Data Guard, test switchover/failover scenarios in a controlled environment.

3. Audit OKV access logs: verify which OKV users accessed keys and when. This confirms the database is retrieving keys as expected.

4. Test key rotation: rotate a TDE master key or a test key using OKV workflows and ensure DB continues to decrypt/encrypt correctly.

5. Confirm backup/restore flows: test RMAN restore and recovery, including restore to a new host where you download the wallet from OKV and open the DB.

Rollback / Reverse migration

• Oracle provides reverse migration options and, starting with certain OKV releases, UI/HSM features to revert Key Vault to using recovery passphrase or perform reverse migration. However, reverse operations can be complex in production — document and test the exact reverse steps for your version before relying on them.

• The safest rollback plan: before migrate, keep a verified local wallet backup (offline) and database backups. If migration fails and DB cannot open with OKV, you can restore the local wallet and reconfigure the DB to use it (or restore DB from backup), following Oracle docs.

Example full workflow (safe pattern)

1. In staging: test the entire sequence with copies of wallets and DBs.

2. Production—preparation:

   • Backup DB and wallets.

   • Ensure OKV reachable and users created.

3. Upload wallet to OKV: okvutil upload .... Verify objects in OKV.

4. Run ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT MIGRATE ... on primary DB.

5. Verify DB open, restart DB to ensure OKV is used. Check audit logs.

6. Close and securely remove local wallet per policy.

7. Repeat for standby DBs (follow Data Guard-specific steps).

Common pitfalls & troubleshooting

• Network/firewall blocking OKV — DB cannot fetch keys; DB open fails. Verify connectivity and DNS.

• Missing privileges for OKV user — okvutil upload or migrations fail; ensure proper OKV account/roles.

• Version mismatches — DB or OKV features may differ across releases; consult the OKV installation/upgrade notes before proceeding.

• Forgotten local wallet deletion too early — keep local wallet until successful verification and backups confirmed.

Security & compliance best practices

• Least privilege: grant the minimal OKV permissions needed to perform uploads or migrations.

• Audit & retention: enable and regularly review OKV audit logs for key access patterns.

• Key rotation: define scheduled rotation policies and test rotations end-to-end.

• HSM integration: if regulatory requirements demand an HSM, configure OKV to use HSM-backed keys.

Final recommendations

1. Test everything in staging — do not run migrations first in production.

2. Upload before migrate — gives you a safe, centrally stored backup of the wallet.

3. Automate & document the migration steps (runbooks) for your environment and DB versions.

4. Run end-to-end checks — restart DBs, test failovers, RMAN restores, and rotation flows.

Want to see how we teach?
Head over to our YouTube channel for insights, tutorials, and tech breakdowns:
 www.youtube.com/@learnomate

To know more about our courses, offerings, and team:
Visit our official website:
 www.learnomate.org

Interested in mastering Oracle Database Administration?
Check out our comprehensive Oracle DBA Training program here:
https://learnomate.org/oracle-dba-training/ 

Want to explore more tech topics?
Check out our detailed blog posts here:
 https://learnomate.org/blogs/

And hey, I’d love to stay connected with you personally!
 Let’s connect on LinkedIn: Ankush Thavali

Happy learning!

Ankush😎