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RE: Disk to Disk backups and RMAN

From: Orr, Steve <sorr_at_rightnow.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 14:29:19 -0800
Message-ID: <F001.003C6CF0.20011115141036@fatcity.com>

Hi Jared,

For our West Coast Data Center we stage to disk (large NFS array) then backup to tape while keeping two days of RMAN backups on disk (gzip'd). RMAN generates distinct file names and keeps track of what data is in each file regardless of whether it's on disk or tape. Last month I had to do a point in time recovery to a prior week. I just restored files from tape to disk and RMAN did the rest. We use Veritas Netbackup so all I had to do was specify the backup directory and the date and it figured out what tapes were needed, robotically retrieved and mounted them and restored the RMAN generated files to disk. Then I took over with RMAN. It was a 3 step process: 1) recover the RMAN disk backup files from tape; 2) unzip these files; 3) do the RMAN recovery. It wasn't that big a deal. For our East Coast Data Center I backup straight to tape but in some ways I prefer the disk staging routine.

Steve Orr
Bozeman, MT

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 1:37 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L

I'm looking for comments on disk to disk backups and their compatibility with backup cataloging software such as RMAN.

The problem that I see with disk to disk is that although recovering from the very first backup is simplified and fast, it would seem that recovery from a previous backup is unnecessarily complex.

For example: if backups are made directly to tape, RMAN ( and other products ) can identify the archive set with a label, and associate that label with a date and SCN for point in time recovery.

When a back up is made to disk, that information is lost. At this point the files on disk are backed up to tape, and RMAN will have no knowledge of the tape labels needed to restore from this backup set.

This leaves the DBA and SA with the onerous duty of finding the right set of tapes manually.

Or does RMAN direct the backup of backup set on disk to tape?

To cut to the chase, what it appears will happen with disk to disk backups is a loss of the ability to tell RMAN to do a PITR and locate the correct tape set and load them via the tape library without human intervention.

If I just need to RTFM, I will do so gladly. There's just a lot of manual to wade through and specific references would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jared
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Author: Orr, Steve
  INET: sorr_at_rightnow.com

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