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RE: RE : RMAN Repository

From: Freeman Robert - IL <FREEMANR_at_tusc.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 08:59:34 -0800
Message-ID: <F001.0052C7F4.20030110085934@fatcity.com>


I actually think RMAN is pretty simple. First, most of the MML vendors offer a product that allows
you to monitor the tape read/write process if you are using MML... So that allows you to do the
monitoring thing.

The problem with shell scripts are numerous. First of all, the person who wrote it may be a much
more advanced shell scripter than you are. Once they take that cool DBA job on the international
space station, God help you when you have to figure out their code. Perhaps you are the shell scripter
expert, but the same problem exists, once you leave who is going to sit and figure out that cool code
that you wrote? With RMAN, Oracle is the support for your backup and recovery product. Since it's an
Oracle database to begin with it makes since to me to use their product.

I think in 8i and particularly 9i, RMAN has become incredibly easy to use, feature rich and very
robust. I mean, when all you really have to do to perform a hot backup on your database is to
fire up rman and type in backup database and the whole shebang is taken care of... well, it
just isn't going to get much easier.

As for the hot backup/cold backup question about the repository.... Are we talking about cold
backups in ARCHIVELOG mode or cold cold, NOARCHIVELOG backups? I much prefer hot backups of the
repository myself, but YMMV.

RF

Robert G. Freeman
Technical Management Consultant
TUSC - The Oracle Experts www.tusc.com
904.708.5076 Cell (it's everywhere that I am!) Author of several books you can find on Amazon.com!

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 10:14 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L

Thanks for the support, Rachel. I was wondering if I was the only one in this want-simple-and-robust-RMAN camp. What you described for cold backups, I used to do for hot backups as well in the pre-RMAN days and do it even now. In fact in a site we use BrightStor backup software from CA, I create a shell script on the fly with all the sql and the backup commands and execute that. In the end, the script as well as the log files are backed up to the tape as well. In some previous site, I had the good fortune to have a excellent shell scripter in my team who wrote nice scripts to read these logs and report all kinds of things like last backup date, the SCN number of last backup, the scn number in the controlfile, etc., very close to what RMAN provides. And, best of all, no Oracle database to worry about. Why couldn't RMAN do that?

I still stand by my leather interior tank analogy. Throw in a monnroof and heated seats, it makes it comfortable and robust but when you max out your card paying for gas or take for an "oil-change", you perhaps wonder "may be I should have a Jetta"!

Arup

> way back when, I wrote my own set of scripts to handle backups. As each
> datafile was backed up, I wrote the full path name to a text file. At
> the end of the backup the text file was written to tape as well.
>
> As I did restores, I read the text file. then I used that file to let
> me know which file I was reading from the tape and where to put it. I
> wrote another text file while I was doing the restore, as each file was
> successfully read and written to disk. This allowed me to restart the
> restore from where I had stopped, instead of from the beginning again.
>
> Admittedly, this was for cold backups of the Oracle database, but I
> can't see why RMAN couldn't have as easily done the same thing for hot
> backups.
>
>
> --- Arup Nanda <arupnanda_at_hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Huh!!!
> >
> > <Quote>
> > If the backup was made while the repository was in use for
> > other backups, it may be in a logically inconsistent state from
> > the RMAN perspective.
> > </Quote>
> >
> > That sent a shiver through the spine, Jared. I admit, I never tested
> > the
> > recovery of the RMAN repository and never (shame on me!) considered
> > the
> > effect of incomplete recovery of the catalog.
> >
> > Others, any ideas? specifically the effect of losing the catalog
> > database
> > and recreating it from a hot backup? Robert Freeman, perhaps?
> >
> > This is another reason why I dislike the idea of a database to store
> > the
> > recovery catalog. Granted, the catalog needs to stored somewhere and
> > it
> > happens to be in (surprise! surprise!!) an Oracle database; but it's
> > more
> > akin to driving a leather interior tank to work everyday. It could
> > have been
> > plain and simple like a text file. A sql based interface would not
> > have been
> > possible; but then again is it there, really? The RMAN scripts could
> > have
> > been adapted to query and manipulate the ascii text file. Just my
> > thoughts!
> >
> > Arup
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > >From: Jared.Still_at_radisys.com
> > >Reply-To: ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com
> > >To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com>
> > >Subject: Re: RE : RMAN Repository
> > >Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 15:19:43 -0800
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> > >2003 16:23:24 -0800
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> > >Thu, 09 Jan 2003 15:19:43 -0800
> > >Message-ID: <F001.0052BE7E.20030109151943_at_fatcity.com>
> > >X-Comment: Oracle RDBMS Community Forum
> > >X-Sender: Jared.Still_at_radisys.com
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> > >FILETIME=[7D17A560:01C2B83E]
> > >
> > >Hot backup of the repository is fine as long as you can be
> > >assured that all files needed for a complete recovery are
> > >going to be available.
> > >
> > >Recover a hot backup of an RMAN repository to another
> > >server using imcomplete recovery, ( your RMAN server
> > >burned to a crisp, drives and all ), and you may or may not
> > >have a good repository.
> > >
> > >If the backup was made while the repository was in use for
> > >other backups, it may be in a logically inconsistent state from
> > >the RMAN perspective.
> > >
> > >Kind of like backing up OID.
> > >
> > >Could be that I'm wrong on this, but I don't have time to test
> > >it and come up with a definitive answer.
> > >
> > >Jared
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >"Arup Nanda" <arupnanda_at_hotmail.com>
> > >Sent by: root_at_fatcity.com
> > > 01/09/2003 01:09 PM
> > > Please respond to ORACLE-L
> > >
> > >
> > > To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
> > ><ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com>
> > > cc:
> > > Subject: Re: RE : RMAN Repository
> > >
> > >
> > >Jared,
> > >
> > >I do. Actually, I back up the "other" master in the multi-master
> > setup, in
> > >order to reduce load on the main database. But now that you have
> > asked the
> > >question, I am beginning to wonder why I ever thought of that.
> > Restoring
> > >will not restore the untransmitted transactions (it's asynch
> > replication);
> > >so I will lose data and at the same time a little load on the main
> > RMAN
> > >repository is not a bad idea either. Hmm...may be I'll switch to the
> > main
> > >database for hot backup.
> > >
> > >The reason for hot backup is quite simple - it's easy to throw in
> > another
> > >database into the hot backup system, rather than figure out a quiet
> > period
> > >for cold backup when no other databases are being backed up using
> > RMAN.
> > >
> > >HTH
> > >
> > >Arup
> > >----- Original Message -----
> > >To: "Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L" <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com>
> > >Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 3:30 PM
> > >
> > >
> > > > I do a cold backup of my repository daily.
> > > >
> > > > Replication of it is not a bad idea, as Arup mentioned,
> > > > though I haven't tried it myself.
> > > >
> > > > Speaking of backing up the RMAN repository, does anyone
> > > > back them up hot?
> > > >
> > > > Seems to me that would not be a good idea.
> > > >
> > > > Jared
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > "Ruth Gramolini" <rgramolini_at_tax.state.vt.us>
> > > > Sent by: root_at_fatcity.com
> > > > 01/09/2003 11:04 AM
> > > > Please respond to ORACLE-L
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
> > ><ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com>
> > > > cc:
> > > > Subject: Re: RE : RMAN Repository
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > The earlly versions of rman suggested that you put a 2nd
> > recovery
> > >catalog
> > > > in one of the databases you are using the "real" recovery catalog
> > for.
> > > > Then
> > > > you use this to record the backups of the recovery catalog
> > database. I
> > > > never headed this advice, altho I do use a recovery catalog for
> > all
> > > > production, developement, and test databases that I back up.
> > > >
> > > > Ruth
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > To: "Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L" <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com>
> > > > Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2003 1:44 PM
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > RE: RE : RMAN Repository>If I need a database to backup a
> > database then
> > >do
> > > > I
> > > > need another database to backup the database that backed up the
> > original
> > > > database?
> > > >
> > > > Exactly my thoughts.
> > > >
> > > > Igor Neyman, OCP DBA
> > > > ineyman_at_perceptron.com
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: Orr, Steve
> > > > To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
> >
> === message truncated ===
>
>
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> --
> Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net
> --
> Author: Rachel Carmichael
> INET: wisernet100_at_yahoo.com
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-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net
-- 
Author: Arup Nanda
  INET: arupnanda_at_hotmail.com

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-- 
Author: Freeman Robert - IL
  INET: FREEMANR_at_tusc.com

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Received on Fri Jan 10 2003 - 10:59:34 CST

Original text of this message

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