Bug in cp ???

[Shamsher Sandhu]

I am using Oracle here on Redhat 6.2 load. We are copying oracle databfiles for 
backup using cp command. The copy is happening when oracle is down. The copy is 
being done across nfs. The problem is that sometimes the copied file is of 
different size than the original one. The difference can range between 200 to 
300 mb on a 500 mb file. I discovered this while to restore from backup and I 
realised that I could not recover beacuse of thius problem. I have seen this 
problemn at least 5 times after that and happens with many files. Could it be 
that oracle datafiles have embedded EOF characters that confuse cp into 
thinking that the file has ended or what. Any way I will leave it upto you to 
figure it out. But please keep me informed about this problem.

Shamsher Sandhu
Oracle DBA
VA Linux Systems
Fremont
Phone 510 687 6760