Urgent RMAN Recovery question

This is the scenario..

Oracle 8.1.6 Enterprise
Hot backups taken daily using RMAN script something like as follows...

run
{ (allocate channels to disk}
backup database including current controlfile;

sql "alter system archive log current";
sql "alter system switch logfile;"

sql "alter database backup controlfile to ..." sql "alter database backup standby controlfile to ...."; }

We don't backup the archivelogs because we have a enormous amount of daily churn on the database and not enough space.

We have tape restored the backup set files onto a different test server for the purposes of trying the restore out. The backup was from over a week ago, so the there are more recent backup set records in the RMAN catalog.

I can succesfully RESTORE the database, but when I try to mount it in every which way, I always end up getting ORA-01152 (file was not restored from a sufficiently old backup).

We have a standby database which I've rebuilt several times using the backup, but have always created a standby controlfile from the primary at the time of recreation. This always works.

However I'm trying to prove that the RMAN backup pieces, together with the RMAN catalog are sufficient in restoring and recovering without having to rely on creating a standby controlfile from the primary system.

Can anyone please assist, fairly urgently.

R. Received on Sat Dec 07 2002 - 08:03:43 CST