Oracle Server - Enterprise Edition - Version: 10.2.0.1 Information in this document applies to any platform.
You are attempting to use the SCN_TO_TIMESTAMP(ORA_ROWSCN) functions to return the row SCN value and are getting ora-8181 errors returned as demonstrated below:
SQL> select table_name from user_tables; TABLE_NAME ------------------------------ DEPT EMP BONUS SALGRADE TABLENAME GT1 6 rows selected. SQL> SELECT SCN_TO_TIMESTAMP(ORA_ROWSCN) FROM dept; SELECT SCN_TO_TIMESTAMP(ORA_ROWSCN) FROM dept * ERROR at line 1: ORA-08181: specified number is not a valid system change number ORA-06512: at "SYS.SCN_TO_TIMESTAMP", line 1 SQL> select ora_rowscn from dept; ORA_ROWSCN ---------- 529426 529426 529426 529426
This is expected behavior as the SCN must be no older than 5 days as part of the current flashback database features. Currently, the flashback query feature keeps track of times up to a maximum of 5 days. This period reflects server uptime, not wall-clock time. You must record the SCN yourself at the time of interest, such as before doing a DELETE.
