Re: RMAN v Control Files

Thanks for your feedback.

Your right, Data Protector is just HP's backup software which integrates with Oracle and other software.

We are currently on 8i, I don't know if your comment on the catalogue database no longer being required still applies.

I'm not sure what constitutes a complicated backup strategy but we have four databases on 8i and take two incremental backups during the day plus a full online backup at night - each database is around 30Gb.

Cheers

Gary

"Howard J. Rogers" <howardjr2000_at_yahoo.com.au> wrote in message news:pan.2003.02.15.22.39.30.233848_at_yahoo.com.au...
> On Sat, 15 Feb 2003 22:46:29 +0800, Gary Mandaracas wrote:
>
> > Can anyone advise,
> >
> > We have installed HP's Data Protector to backup our Oracle databses and
> > other systems in two of our sites and been given different advise by
> > consultants working on each installation.
> >
> > For Data Protector you can configure the backup to integrate with RMAN
or
> > make use of Control files. In the first install we where advised to
> > configure RMAN prior to the consultant coming in to install and set-up
the
> > backup software, however in a more recent install at another site the
> > consultant advised us to make use of the Control files.
> >
> > Is he cutting corners to get the job done or does it really make no
> > difference? What are the pros and cons of each approach?
> >
> > Any advice would be appreciated.
> >
> > Gary
>
> It's not entirely clear what you are talking about, because I don't know
> the specific product you mention but I *think* you are
> saying that one consultant advised the use of a Catalog Database for RMAN
> to use as its repository, and another advised not to bother with a Catalog
> Database at all, but get RMAN to store its repository information in the
> Control Files of the target database itself. (I'm assuming that this Data
> Protector is just an HP fancy front-end for RMAN. Ignore the rest of this
> post if that's not the case).
>
> If that is a fair summary of what you've been advised, then my view is
> that it's the one recommending the use of a Catalog Database that needs to
> get up to speed. There is little need for one in 9i, unless your backup
> strategy is complex, your backup volumes are high, or you have some other
> weird backup requirement.
>
> However, it does mean that RMAN will be storing stuff in your control
> files. Firstly, that makes the control files get bigger -though not by
> much -maybe 60MB or so. Secondly, you need to make sure that you never,
> ever lose all copies of your control files (multiplexing is easy, ought to
> be compulsory, and does the job nicely... and I mean multiplexing, not
> hardware mirroring, though you can do that as well). Having said that, if
> disaster strikes and you *do* lose all copies of your control files, then
> recovery is still possible, provided you make sure that you configure
> RMAN's automatic backup of control files feature (which mysteriously
> and very stupidly defaults to being off!). Thirdly, make sure the control
> file retains records long enough to cope with 'odd' recoveries: the
> default is for the control file entries to begin to be over-written after
> 7 days, but that would potentially mean it was impossible to perform an
> unusual recovery from a backup taken 8 days ago. Use the init.ora/spfile
> parameter CONTROLFILE_RECORD_KEEP_TIME to bump up the number of days to
> something appropriate for you.
>
> There was a 'fourthly', but I've forgotten what it was!
>
> So I'll leave it there, particularly since none of this might actually
> apply to this HP product.
>
> Regards
> HJR
>
Received on Sun Feb 16 2003 - 06:33:23 CST