Re: RMAN orphaned backups

Chuck wrote:
> We sometimes use rman duplication to refresh test/dev databases from
> their production counterparts. This creates a new dbid for the copied
> database which effectively orphans the old dbid in the rman catalog as
> well as it's associated backup sets. I want to get rid of these old
> backup sets to release space in the tape library. I could use
> dbms_rcvcat.unregisterdatabase but there's a catch - some of the backup
> sets are marked for "keep" and must be retained. How can I remove just
> those backup sets from the rman catalog that are not marked to keep? If
> I can safely remove them, the media vendor provides a utility which will
> then synchronize their library with the rman catalog and delete the
> backup pieces from the media subsystem.
>
> The database versions range from 9.0.1 through 10.2.0.2.
> The rman catalog is version 10.2.0.2.
>
> If you have a script that does this (I'm sure other DBA's have addressed
> this issue before), would you care to share it?
>
> Thanks.

Don't unregister these dbid if you want to retain their KEEP backups. The easiest way to deal with this problem is to connect with RMAN to the database BEFORE "refreshing" it with the duplication. Otherwise you will have to start a dummy instance in NOMOUNT mode and set the old DBID at the RMAN prompt.

Then in both cases, execute a delete command including some convenient retention policy, for example "delete obsolete redundancy 1;" This will delete all backups except those marked KEEP. Do not execute a simple "delete backup;": it does not take the KEEP flag into account!

Jerome Received on Tue Jan 30 2007 - 14:03:13 CST