Re: switch from file system to raw device

Igor wrote:

> We thought about EBU in the first place, later RMAN but considered it to
> be an additional complexity and of course, who will backup RMAN's
> database?

What RMAN database? It is not compulsory to run RMAN with a catalog database. In fact, from 9i onwards, the default is not to. And the suggestion is that unless your backup needs are weirdly complex, you shouldn't have one.

In any event, the RMAN catalog database, if you choose to use one, is peanut-sized. Most of it is just SYSTEM tablespace, after which it's just 20MB per target database per year. It isn't exactly in use all the time, either, so you can just shut it down, copy *.*, and have done.

Catalog database backup in RMAN is what we in Australia call 'a complete furphy'. Meaning... it is not actually an issue at all.

> Another RMAN? We (me and the dba) in fact have seen RMAN in
> class course but never used or tested it intensively at home.

You ought to. It's changed an awful lot since 8.0.

> We are very
> comfortable with the bash shell script backup/recovery "software". In fact
> we test recovery procedure once in a while with dba and operator.

That's one of the main reasons I would be honing my RMAN skills whilst you have the chance... it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Oracle turned around one version soon and announced that RMAN was henceforth to be the only supported backup method. They've put a lot of effort and investment into their own tool, after all.

Regards
HJR Received on Thu Sep 16 2004 - 07:05:49 CDT