RE: redo log file setup with mirrored drives

"Pending further evidence to the contrary, I'll take mirroring external to
Oracle as the better choice."

Redo and archived redo logs are the most important files in the database. Lose a datafile? You can still recover the database. Lose all controlfiles? They can be recreated. Lose a single redo entry? Your recovery is terminated. Yes, there are unsupported methods to bypass this condition, but they are kludges and may be very, very expensive.

So, why do I still multiplex my redo logs (even on my 'test' Win2k databases at home)? O/S level mirroring protects against some failures, but it does not protect against the accidental deletion of the file. I have had to deal with situations where people deleted the redo logs (disk space at 90%, let's clear out the log files...). Another copy on another device (usually with a separate controller), saved the database.

Considering the small size of the redo logs and their critical importance to the database, I'll both multiplex (oracle) and mirror (o/s).

"1. This is pure speculation."

Kirti is one of the many people on this list who has shown time and time again that he does not engage in "pure speculation". While a skeptical attitude is good and helps you develop, I tend to accept Kirti's posts (and Cary's, Tim's, Jared's, Robert's, and others on the 10 list) at face value until I put together a test case and can prove it or disprove it.

Dan Fink

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