RE: Database Retention Question

From: Reen, Elizabeth <"Reen,>
Date: Mon, 1 May 2017 13:15:33 +0000
Message-ID: <258575162B63424EB58DAE3A5475B6ED0124C6FF43_at_EXNJMB25.nam.nsroot.net>



Agreed, wish I had that option 10 years ago. Push back on the lawyers. Do they really need all of the backups or will a couple suffice. They tend to be very conservative about preserving evidence.

Liz

Elizabeth Reen
CPB Database Group Manager
718.248.9930 (Office)
Service Now Group: CPB-ORACLE-DB-SUPPORT

From: Scott Canaan [mailto:srcdco_at_rit.edu] Sent: Monday, May 01, 2017 8:59 AM
To: Reen, Elizabeth [ICG-IT]; oracle-l_at_freelists.org Subject: RE: Database Retention Question

This was one of the first things we thought of, however there are 28 backups to keep running (4 databases x 7 days each), which becomes unwieldly very quickly.

What we are looking at doing is putting all 4 databases into one VM, then taking a VM snapshot of the entire environment, which gets us down to 7 snapshots to save and that way the O/S and Oracle software are also preserved with the databases. That's what I've gathered from the responses here is the best way to go.

Scott Canaan '88 (srcdco_at_rit.edu<mailto:srcdco_at_rit.edu>)
(585) 475-7886 - work (585) 339-8659 - cell
"Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it." - Tom Lehrer

From: Reen, Elizabeth [mailto:elizabeth.reen_at_citi.com] Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 4:29 PM
To: Scott Canaan; oracle-l_at_freelists.org<mailto:oracle-l_at_freelists.org> Subject: RE: Database Retention Question

            What I have ended up doing is just keeping the copy on a database, upgrading and patching as needed. Expensive, yes. Data always available, yes. What you have to lose if you lose the case should dictate how you keep the data.

Liz

Elizabeth Reen
CPB Database Group Manager

From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org<mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org> [mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] On Behalf Of Scott Canaan Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2017 1:16 PM
To: oracle-l_at_freelists.org<mailto:oracle-l_at_freelists.org> Subject: Database Retention Question

We are trying to find a workable solution to a rather large problem. One system has an Oracle database in Red Hat 6 and Oracle 11.2.0.4. Last August, there was a legal request to freeze 28 different backups of this database. That was done by the systems team, via CommVault (using RMAN). By asking more questions, it has come to light that any and / or all of those backups need to be quickly accessible as Oracle databases until Aug. 31, 2023. When I mentioned to our legal department that there's no way that I can guarantee that whatever version of Oracle we'll be using in 5, 6, 7 years will be able to even open the database files, the response was "you have to guarantee that the data is available if required in a lawsuit. No excuses are accepted by the courts.".

We've toyed with a couple of possible options. One is to keep a Red Hat 6 / Oracle 11.2.0.4 environment running until Sept. 1, 2023, which the SAs hate (not to mention the Security Office). Another is to restore from backup and upgrade along with other database upgrades and take a new frozen backup, which we aren't keen on doing 28 times.

Does anyone have any other ideas on how to save these backups and guarantee that they are usable through Aug. 31, 2023? I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Thank you,

Scott Canaan '88 (srcdco_at_rit.edu<mailto:srcdco_at_rit.edu>)
(585) 475-7886 - work (585) 339-8659 - cell
"Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it." - Tom Lehrer

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Received on Mon May 01 2017 - 15:15:33 CEST

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