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

Here's a summary of the Oracle Secure Backup Cloud Module (OSB Cloud Module):
Purpose:

• Enables direct backup of Oracle databases to cloud storage, specifically Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), using Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN).
• Offers a cloud-based alternative or complement to traditional tape-based backups.

Key Features:

• Seamless Integration with RMAN: Works seamlessly with existing RMAN backup and recovery processes.
• Cloud Storage Destination: Sends backups directly to S3, leveraging its scalability, durability, and cost-effectiveness.
• Security: Employs encryption and authentication to protect data in transit and at rest.
• Licensing: Licensed separately from Oracle Secure Backup tape management editions.

Functionality:

• Backup to S3: Backs up Oracle databases to S3 using RMAN channels.
• Recovery from S3: Restores databases from S3 backups using RMAN.
• Management: Manages backup and restore operations for S3 backups.

Implementation:

• SBT Interface: Uses RMAN's SBT (System Backup to Tape) interface to integrate with S3.
• Wallet for Credentials: Stores AWS credentials securely in an Oracle Wallet for authentication.

Benefits:

• Offsite Storage: Provides offsite storage for disaster recovery and compliance.
• Cost Savings: Can reduce storage costs compared to on-premises tape systems.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Leverages the scalability and flexibility of S3.
• Integration: Integrates with existing RMAN processes and tools.

Ideal For:

• Organizations seeking cloud-based backup for Oracle databases.
• Complementing or replacing tape-based backups.
• Simplifying offsite storage management.

Additional Considerations:

• Thorough testing: Recommended before deploying in production environments.
• Network bandwidth: Requires adequate network bandwidth for efficient backups.
• Security best practices: Adhering to security best practices for cloud storage.

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.