recovering from archived redo logs

Hi,

If I make a ALTER SYSTEM ARCHIVE LOG CURRENT, then copy all archived logs to another machine with earlier copied datafiles/current redo logs, IN THEORY surely I should have enough redo to fully recover. In practice, I seem to be able to do this if I have the above plus:

1. a copy of a current control file (or a (binary) backup controlfile), Doesn't matter if I don't have current copies of redo logs because all the redo is in the archives.

or

2. Copies of CURRENT redo logs and I rebuild control file from a trace control file. Oracle seems to get highest SCN from current logs when it rebuilds the control file, so it says 'aha, SCN in data files is below that in the archived logs, recovery needed.'

But f i don't have current redo logs and try rebuilding a control file from a trace copy, I can't recover at all.

In theory, it seems to me that all the redo required is in the archived logs, so I should be able to say 'rebuild a control file from the trace file, ignore the SCN in the 'old/invalid current redo log, but get the SCN from the archived redo logs, so that I can recover.

Im new to Oracle - \would appreciate it if some DBA could point out error in my thinking.
thanks
Simon

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Simon Hume
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