Lesson 1

This module will review the remaining important functions of the Oracle recovery catalog. The topics covered in this module will be part of your day-to-day activities as an Oracle database administrator (DBA). The discussion on stored scripts will be particularly important as you automate your production environment. By the end of this module, you be able to:

1. Add information to the recovery catalog
2. Re-create your recovery catalog
3. Use the report command
4. Use the list command
5. Create and use stored scripts
6. Demonstrate the use of the run command
7. Use the Oracle-supplied data dictionary views
   Although some of the topics presented in this module will have little practical use in your daily operations, the Oracle8 DBA certification exam will test you on them

The Oracle Secure Backup (OSB) Cloud Module is a tool provided by Oracle that allows organizations to perform backups of their Oracle databases directly to cloud-based storage. It extends the capabilities of Oracle Secure Backup, which traditionally supports tape and disk backups, to include cloud storage as a destination.
Key Features of Oracle Secure Backup Cloud Module

1. Integration with Oracle RMAN:
   • The OSB Cloud Module integrates seamlessly with Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN), the primary tool for managing Oracle database backups. This ensures that backups can be managed using familiar RMAN commands and scripts.
2. Support for Cloud Storage:
   • It allows backups to be stored directly on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage or other supported cloud storage services. This eliminates the need for on-premises storage hardware for long-term retention.
3. Data Security:
   • Data is encrypted during transmission and storage using industry-standard encryption algorithms, ensuring that backups remain secure in the cloud.
4. Compression and Deduplication:
   • The module supports advanced features such as compression to reduce the size of backups, minimizing storage costs, and improving backup/restore performance.
5. Scalability:
   • Cloud storage offers elastic scalability, making it easy to accommodate growing backup requirements without the need to invest in additional on-premises storage.
6. Redundancy and High Availability:
   • Storing backups in the cloud provides redundancy and ensures high availability by leveraging the cloud provider’s distributed infrastructure.
7. Pay-as-You-Go Model:
   • The cloud module enables a cost-efficient pay-as-you-go model, where customers only pay for the storage they use, avoiding upfront hardware costs.
8. Simplified Configuration and Use:
   • Once installed and configured, the OSB Cloud Module simplifies the process of backing up to and restoring from the cloud using RMAN.

Installation and Configuration

1. Installation:
   • The OSB Cloud Module requires the installation of a software package (provided by Oracle) on the database server.
   • Configuration includes downloading and installing the Oracle Secure Backup Cloud Module, typically using an installer script.
2. Cloud Credentials:
   • Configuration involves providing access credentials for the cloud storage service, such as a user ID and password or an API key for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
3. RMAN Configuration:
   • RMAN needs to be configured to use the OSB Cloud Module as a backup destination by specifying parameters like backup destination URL and encryption options.

Use Cases

1. Disaster Recovery:
   • Storing backups in the cloud ensures a reliable disaster recovery solution, as data is stored offsite and remains accessible during on-premises outages.
2. Long-term Archiving:
   • Cloud storage provides a cost-effective solution for retaining backups for extended periods to meet regulatory or business requirements.
3. Hybrid Backup Strategies:
   • It can be used in combination with on-premises storage for a hybrid backup strategy, offering flexibility in how backups are managed and stored.

Benefits

1. Cost Efficiency:
   • Reduces the need for physical backup infrastructure and maintenance.
2. Flexibility:
   • Enables organizations to adapt quickly to changing storage requirements.
3. Enhanced Security:
   • Provides robust encryption to secure data both in transit and at rest.
4. Simplified Management:
   • Allows IT teams to manage cloud backups using familiar RMAN commands.

By leveraging the Oracle Secure Backup Cloud Module, organizations can efficiently back up and restore Oracle databases using modern cloud storage solutions, enhancing both flexibility and reliability in their backup strategies.

The following Backup and Recovery features are new in Oracle Database 11g Release 2

1. Oracle Secure Backup (OSB) Cloud Module: Users can take advantage of the Internet-based data storage services offered by Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for their RMAN backup and recovery tasks. The OSB Cloud Module interface extends the Amazon S3 functionality and provides an easy-to-manage, cost-efficient, and scalable alternative to maintaining in-house data storage and a local, fully configured backup infrastructure
2. DUPLICATE Database Command Enhancements: Users can duplicate a database without connecting to a target database. The only requirements for this operation are a connection to a catalog and an auxiliary database. This new functionality is useful when the target database is not always available. Users can also duplicate a database without connecting to a target database and a recovery catalog. In this case, the only requirement is that you provide a disk backup location where RMAN can find all the backups, data file copies, archived logs, and control file copies for database duplication. This database duplication enhancement is helpful when it is not possible to connect to the target database and the recovery catalog. When you duplicate from a target database, RMAN determines if any excluded tablespaces contain SYS-owned objects, materialized views, and identifies tablespaces that are not self-contained before starting any duplication operations.
3. RMAN Tablespace Point-in-Time Recovery (TSPITR) Enhancements: TSPITR can be used to recover a dropped tablespace and to recover to a point in time before the tablespace was brought online. The latter TSPITR operation can be repeated as many times as necessary.
4. Automatic Block Repair: The enhancements to corrupt block detection make block repair more efficient and increase availability. The automatic block repair enhancement complements the Oracle Database 11g Release 1 automatic block corruption detection. A detected corrupt block (for example, through a user's SQL query) is now automatically repaired by using a good block from a physical standby database. With automatic block repair, a user querying data in the corrupt block no longer sees the corrupt block error message displayed (ORA-01578). Instead, there is a pause while the corrupt block is repaired, and then the results of the SQL query are returned. The automatic block repair is transparent to the user unless the repair fails. Block recovery is faster because no redo must be applied to the block that is taken from the physical standby database. Automatic block repair requires an Oracle Active Data Guard license because real-time query mode must be enabled on the physical standby database. The operation occurs automatically but can also be explicitly invoked with the RMAN RECOVER BLOCK command.
5. SET NEWNAME Options: The SET NEWNAME command is more powerful and easier to use. You can use this command on a specific tablespace or on all data files and temp files. You can also change the names for multiple files in the database. A new string format identifier "%b" makes it easier to move files around. Using SET NEWNAME with the format identifier "%b" enables you to designate a file name without its directory path. This option is particularly useful when you want to keep the names of your data files the same but move the data files to a different directory location.
6. CONVERT DATABASE Option: A new option, SKIP UNNECESSARY DATAFILES, is now supported for the CONVERT DATABASE command. When the option is invoked, the only data files that are converted are those that require RMAN processing during transfer between the specified platforms. The rest of the data files can be used by the destination database through shared storage or path name. By skipping the conversion of data files that do not contain undo segments, overall database transport time can be reduced. You can use this option when converting at the source or converting ON DESTINATION PLATFORM.
7. Expanded Backup Compression Levels: RMAN now offers a wider range of compression levels with the Advanced Compression Option (ACO). Although the existing BASIC compression option may be suitable for most environments, you may want to explore the ACO backup compression levels (LOW, MEDIUM, and HIGH) to achieve better performance or higher compression ratios.
8. INCARNATION Specifier Enhancement: Incarnations may now be used to further qualify archived redo log ranges for the BACKUP, RESTORE, and LIST commands. You can now specify ALL or CURRENT or designate a particular incarnation number when listing ranges of archived logs.
9. TO DESTINATION syntax has been added to the BACKUP command. This addition enables you to designate a specific directory location for backups to disk and is primarily for use with the BACKUP RECOVERY AREA command. If backup optimization is enabled, then RMAN only skips backups of identical files that reside in the directory location specified by the TO DESTINATION option.

In the next lesson, you will learn how to use the catalog command to add information to a recovery catalog.