Re: Simple backup of an Oracle 8 server.

In article <7o69dc$f7q$1_at_news1.tele.dk>,

        "Ulrik Lunddahl" <ul_at_proconsult.dk> writes:
> My idea is to make an export of the whole database at night, where there is
> no write trafic on the system, the only user at night is the web server and
> it only reading from the database.

[snip]

> Is this a good idea, or should i figure something else, and mutch more
> complicated out.

Quote from Oracle 7 Server Administrators' Guide:

"... database exports are not a substitute for operating system backups and cannot provide the same complete recovery advantages that the built in functionality of ORACLE offers."

So the answer to your question is no, it's not a good idea. Exports are great for shunting data around but are messy for backups, especially if you can't *guarantee* read-only access for the *whole* duration. If you need to keep the database going 24x7, the usual approach is to run the database in archiving (ARCHIVELOG) mode. If you can cope with a period of downtime each night you can opt for offline backups.

Offline backups are a little bit easier to cope with than archiving and if you don't currently have any backup at all, it would be a good idea to shut down your database and back up the data and control files. Restoring is just a matter of putting the files back where they came from and starting the database up.

Once you have protected the database you should read the chapters in the administrators' guide that discuss backups and plan your backup strategy. If you can get your hands on a copy of Personal Oracle, it is ideal for practising backup and restore operations.

--
Regards,

Richard Senior
London, England Received on Tue Aug 03 1999 - 07:27:22 CDT