Oracle database not mounted? - ORA-01507

Experts exchange is not letting me attach any files today :( ive tried on 2 other computers and it still wont let me upload any type of file, ive never had this issue before on here.

ok i think its attached this time

Without seeing your log, often Symantec and other 3rd party tools are misconfigured and backup the datafiles while the database is open and not in hot backup mode. You cannot simply backup the files while the DB is open. You must either back them up in hot backup mode (requires RMAN or sql commands to be issued to the live database) or tell Symantec to ignore the oradata completely, and use RMAN or sql commands to do the Oracle portion of the system backup, which copies the backupsets or images to another directory (RMAN uses the FRA - Flash Recovery Area) then copy only the backupsets in the FRA with Symantec. I prefer to configure the backup tool in this latter way and actually I go one step further and include a secondary disk backup area for Oracle.

Just saw your attachment, reviewing it now.

From  your live alert log:

Mon Mar 16 19:00:03 2009
Completed: alter tablespace PRODEXT_01_RX begin backup
Mon Mar 16 19:00:03 2009
alter tablespace PRODEXT_01_RX end backup
Completed: alter tablespace PRODEXT_01_RX end backup

I'm certain this is not correct. The backup window for each tablespace is instantaneous. You are apparently using user-managed backups. Each datafile can only be copied while it is in backup mode. Your datafiles never stay in backup mode, so it is impossible that a valid hot backup was created.

Either:
1) use RMAN
2) Change user script to do:
    alter tablespace foo begin backup;
    -- host copy / symantec bakup the datafile
    alter tablespace foo end backup;

3) On some systems it is actually simpler to do kick all tablespaces into backup mode at once, then do a full oradata copy, then end the backup mode. This is also done on SANs with BCV mirrors, but in your case, I think you have way to many tablespaces to kick them all into backup at once, so I recommend you stick with the rolling copy described in (2)

Hi,
I'm not sure what you mean please can you clarify what you would recommend , we use the system recovery software to create a full image of the entire drives, before the backup is run only use a batch file to close oracle and after the backup is run another batch file to start oracle:

Stop Oracle
---------------------
set oracle_sid=live
svrmgrl command='@C:\Start+shutdown_Oracle\shutlive.sql'
net stop oracleservicelive
pause
exit


shutlive.sql file
-----------------------

connect internal/oracle
shutdown immediate
exit

To start oracel we use this batch file:
--------------------------------------
net start oracleservicelive
pause

The show users script that i used was just to test a connection to the oracel database, the main issue is we are not able to use our ERP software (that connects to oracle) it just hangs.

Show users batch file that i run
--------------------------------------
set oracle_sid=live
svrmgrl command='@C:\Start+shutdown_Oracle\show_users_live.sql'
pause
exit

calls this file (show_users_live.sql)
----------------------
connect internal/oracle
select name from v$database;
select username from v$session;
qui

Neither of the alert logs you provided indicate Oracle errors or anything wrong as far as opening the database.

They do indicate that the instance either crashed or was shutdown abort, but I don't see any errors.

There is more going on than just what you say about a your shutdown and startup of Oracle. From the alert log it is evident someone is running an incorrectly written hot backup script. If you are only doing cold image backups, then what is the other script running for?

Your right there is another script run at 7PM every day to do a hot backup, (the script was not written by me) your saying this scirpt is doing something incorrectly and could be cuasing the problems?

The script was written to do a hot backup of the oracel files into another folder, then at 10PM symantec backup exec 11 backs up all drives. We decided for now to leave this orginal backup in place in case the symantec system recovery backup doesnt work correctly.

The seperate system recovery backup takes place at 3am

I guess i could try stopping the hot backup scripts from running, although i have tried creating an image of all drives in the middle of the day when oracle is running and we sometimes still encounter the same issues.

>>your saying this scirpt is doing something incorrectly and could be cuasing the problems?

Please read my original statement as to why it is incorrect. If you try to restore from that hot backup it will fail.

As to the other, I cannot say since:

1) Your alert log indicates no errors that I see
2) It is unclear which image you restored. I was confused by the existence of a cold and hot backup.

Unless I can see the actual errors, I cannot say for sure, except that I've seen this _many_ times, and 9 times out of 10 it is due to the admin restoring an OS copy of a database that was open (not in hot backup mode and not shutdown cold).

hmm The images we are restoring are not from the hotbackup which is backed by using backup exec, they are instead from images created by using symantec system recovery which is run as a seperate backup

We currently have the 2 backups running at different times.Is there any more information i can provide you with which may help get to the bottom of this?

7PM hot backup script runs
10pm symantec backup exec backs up all drives (including the folder where the hotback database files and log files are moved to)
2:10am script to shutdown oracle is run
2:15am symantec system recovery is run to create an image backup of all drives
6AM script to startup oracel is run

>>>> and 9 times out of 10 it is due to the admin restoring an OS copy of a database that was open (not in hot backup mode and not shutdown cold). Do you mean we are not shutting down the database cold before the system recovery backup is run?

we havent been restoreing from the backup exec files only from the system recovery image backup.

We intend to eventually remove the backup exec backup once we know the system recovery images can work with oracle running reliably.

...and by removing the  backup exec backup we would intend to remove the hot backup script also.

so that we only use symantec system recovery