Pau Lo
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RMAN related queries
1) I saw a post on another oracle related forum the other day that said RMAN doesn’t so backups? I was under the impression (not a DBA or Oracle tech) that RMAN was the only supported method of backing up Oracle databases. So when they say RMAN doesn’t do backups, any idea where they are coming from? If it doesnt do backups, what does? Or what tool does do the backups?
2) I could do with some form of SQL query that would details how RMAN has been configured, to see what it is backing up, when/how often, where the backup file is being written to, logs of successful/unsuccessful backups, and any details about alerts configured to inform an admin of the success/non-success of a backup job (please bare in mind I am not oracle admin).
3) will the output of 2 be easy to interpret?
4) What would you be looking for in terms of RMAN configuration per databases, is there much that can go wrong, or that an admin can misconfigure?
2) I could do with some form of SQL query that would details how RMAN has been configured, to see what it is backing up, when/how often, where the backup file is being written to, logs of successful/unsuccessful backups, and any details about alerts configured to inform an admin of the success/non-success of a backup job (please bare in mind I am not oracle admin).
3) will the output of 2 be easy to interpret?
4) What would you be looking for in terms of RMAN configuration per databases, is there much that can go wrong, or that an admin can misconfigure?
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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>>Any more?
More than I could possibly think of...
Tapes:
Bad tape management (This one cost me a 72 hour straight marathon to rebuild a database). A DBA overwrote a tape that had a necessary archived redo log. Therefore Point-In-time recovery from tape was not possible.
Backups don't span enough tapes. I.E./ no single file on only one tape (or even two tapes). I want as many versions on as many tapes as I can get. Tapes snap.
Had one instance, before RMAN, the backup software reported how many bytes were being written to tape. All was good until I went to recover and we realized that there was nothing on the tapes.
Backups themselves:
Purging disk backups before they are on tape.
Not getting all the little pieces you need.
As part of my RMAN backups, I grab the SPFILE.
I also generate a trace of my controlfile ( basically a SQL script to manually recreate the controlfiles if needed).
If I think of anything obvious, I'll post it.
>>must be an easy way that a DBA managing say 50 oracle databases
Create a new database to be the RMAN catalog. Then management is centralized.
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/backup.112/e10642/rcmcatdb.htm#i1011365
A link in the link above:
Reporting on RMAN Operations
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/backup.112/e10642/rcmreprt.htm#CHDDBJHC
More than I could possibly think of...
Tapes:
Bad tape management (This one cost me a 72 hour straight marathon to rebuild a database). A DBA overwrote a tape that had a necessary archived redo log. Therefore Point-In-time recovery from tape was not possible.
Backups don't span enough tapes. I.E./ no single file on only one tape (or even two tapes). I want as many versions on as many tapes as I can get. Tapes snap.
Had one instance, before RMAN, the backup software reported how many bytes were being written to tape. All was good until I went to recover and we realized that there was nothing on the tapes.
Backups themselves:
Purging disk backups before they are on tape.
Not getting all the little pieces you need.
As part of my RMAN backups, I grab the SPFILE.
I also generate a trace of my controlfile ( basically a SQL script to manually recreate the controlfiles if needed).
If I think of anything obvious, I'll post it.
>>must be an easy way that a DBA managing say 50 oracle databases
Create a new database to be the RMAN catalog. Then management is centralized.
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/backup.112/e10642/rcmcatdb.htm#i1011365
A link in the link above:
Reporting on RMAN Operations
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/backup.112/e10642/rcmreprt.htm#CHDDBJHC
ASKER
Thanks, non of those links seem to give you much of a management freindly report of
Here is what is configured
And here are the success logs/failure logs
Are you better off with a 3rd party tool for RMAN reporting?
Here is what is configured
And here are the success logs/failure logs
Are you better off with a 3rd party tool for RMAN reporting?
>>management freindly report of
Management wants reports of daily backups and 'friendly'?
Would management know if one or more archived redo logs are missing from the backups?
I'm guessing they just want to know what databases are in the catalog and the date and status of the last backup? Maybe the 'type' of backup: Full, Incremental.
There are views that capture different aspects of RMAN. I've never used a recovery catalog but assume there are additional ones there to report on ALL instances/jobs in the catalog.
The docs have the views and what they contain. You can probably come up with a home-grown script to report on exactly what you want.
For example: V$RMAN_STATUS:
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/server.112/e25513/dynviews_2149.htm#REFRN30306
>>Are you better off with a 3rd party tool for RMAN reporting?
I suppose if there is one. I've never had a need to look to see if one exists.
Management wants reports of daily backups and 'friendly'?
Would management know if one or more archived redo logs are missing from the backups?
I'm guessing they just want to know what databases are in the catalog and the date and status of the last backup? Maybe the 'type' of backup: Full, Incremental.
There are views that capture different aspects of RMAN. I've never used a recovery catalog but assume there are additional ones there to report on ALL instances/jobs in the catalog.
The docs have the views and what they contain. You can probably come up with a home-grown script to report on exactly what you want.
For example: V$RMAN_STATUS:
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/server.112/e25513/dynviews_2149.htm#REFRN30306
>>Are you better off with a 3rd party tool for RMAN reporting?
I suppose if there is one. I've never had a need to look to see if one exists.
ASKER
>Not getting all the little pieces you need.
can you elaborate on each piece required?
can you elaborate on each piece required?
>>can you elaborate on each piece required?
Unfortunately, not in great detail.
Granted, most things in Oracle are straight forward: Data files, Archived redo, etc... but I don't think I can come up with an exhaustive list because most backup setups are different.
In a real emergency, SPFILE, Control Files and Password file 'can' be recreated but it's always nice to have them as part of your backup strategy (saves time and possible human errors).
You need everything you need to perform any type of recovery based on your specific backups and needs.
For example: In Windows, there are some registry things what make life a little easier if you have them but they can also be recreated if necessary.
Unfortunately, not in great detail.
Granted, most things in Oracle are straight forward: Data files, Archived redo, etc... but I don't think I can come up with an exhaustive list because most backup setups are different.
In a real emergency, SPFILE, Control Files and Password file 'can' be recreated but it's always nice to have them as part of your backup strategy (saves time and possible human errors).
You need everything you need to perform any type of recovery based on your specific backups and needs.
For example: In Windows, there are some registry things what make life a little easier if you have them but they can also be recreated if necessary.
ASKER
Any more? How could you see if the archive logs are being backed up by RMAN? Is there no way to export out exactly what RMAN is doing on a given database? There must be an easy way that a DBA managing say 50 oracle databases, can just query what exactly RMAN is configured to do on each database, and is it working.