Less15 backups

Editor's Notes

• #3: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 -
• #4: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Backup Solutions: Overview As you will see in the remainder of this lesson, Recovery Manager (RMAN) is the recommended method of backing up your Oracle database. Oracle Secure Backup complements existing functionality by adding backup to tape and backup of operating system files. User-managed backups are based on scripts that a DBA must write. This option is being phased out because it is more labor intensive.
• #5: Oracle Secure Backup Oracle’s current backup and recovery product for the database is Recovery Manager. Oracle Secure Backup complements existing functionality in the following ways: Complete backup solution: Oracle Secure Backup provides data protection for the database and nondatabase data to protect the entire Oracle environment. Media management: Oracle Secure Backup provides the media management layer for RMAN database backups to tape. Before Oracle Secure Backup, customers had to purchase expensive third-party media management products offering integration with RMAN tape backups. Backup anywhere on the network: Oracle Secure Backup backs up data from multiple network-attached computer systems to tertiary storage resources on the network. Oracle Secure Backup supports diverse configurations of servers, clients, Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers, and tertiary storage devices and protects network storage environments. The combination of RMAN and Oracle Secure Backup provides an end-to-end backup solution that is entirely within the Oracle product stack. This solution makes better customer support possible because Oracle Corporation is responsible for the entire backup solution.
• #6: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - User-Managed Backup A user-managed backup can be performed interactively. However, most often it entails the writing of scripts to perform the backup. There are several scenarios that can be run, and scripts must be written to handle them. Some of the actions that scripts must take: Querying V$DATAFILE to determine the data files that need to be backed up and their current state Querying V$LOGFILE to identify the online redo log files Querying V$CONTROLFILE to identify the control file to back up Placing each tablespace in online backup mode Querying V$BACKUP to see what data files are part of a tablespace that has been placed in online backup mode Issuing operating system copy commands to copy the data files to the backup location Bringing each tablespace out of online backup mode
• #7: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Terminology Whole database backup: Includes all data files and at least one control file (Remember that all control files in a database are identical.) Partial database backup: May include zero or more tablespaces and zero or more data files; may or may not include a control file Full backup: Makes a copy of each data block that contains data and that is within the files being backed up Incremental backup: Makes a copy of all data blocks that have changed since a previous backup. The Oracle database supports two levels of incremental backup (0 and 1). A level 1 incremental backup can be one of two types: cumulative or differential . A cumulative backup backs up all changes since the last level 0 backup. A differential backup backs up all changes since the last incremental backup (which could be either a level 0 or level 1 backup). Change Tracking with RMAN supports incremental backups. Offline backups (also known as “cold” or consistent backup) : Are taken while the database is not open. They are consistent because, at the time of the backup, the system change number (SCN) in data file headers matches the SCN in the control files. Online backups (also known as “hot” or inconsistent backup) : Are taken while the database is open. They are inconsistent because, with the database open, there is no guarantee that the data files are synchronized with the control files.
• #8: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Terminology (continued) Image copies: Are duplicates of data or archived log files (similar to simply copying the files by using operating system commands) Backup sets: Are collections of one or more binary files that contain one or more data files, control files, server parameter files, or archived log files. With backup sets, empty data blocks are not stored, thereby causing backup sets to use less space on the disk or tape. Backup sets can be compressed to further reduce the space requirements of the backup. Image copies must be backed up to the disk. Backup sets can be sent to the disk or directly to the tape. The advantage of creating a backup as an image copy is improved granularity of the restore operation. With an image copy, only the file or files need to be retrieved from your backup location. With backup sets, the entire backup set must be retrieved from your backup location before you extract the file or files that are needed. The advantage of creating backups as backup sets is better space usage. In most databases, 20% or more of the data blocks are empty blocks. Image copies back up every data block, even if the data block is empty. Backup sets significantly reduce the space required by the backup. In most systems, the advantages of backup sets outweigh the advantages of image copies.
• #9: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Recovery Manager (RMAN) RMAN is the component of the Oracle database that is used to perform backup and recovery operations. It can make consistent and inconsistent backups, perform incremental and full backups, and back up either the whole database or a portion of it. RMAN uses its own powerful job control and scripting language, as well as a published API that interfaces RMAN with many popular backup software solutions. RMAN can store backups on the disk for quick recovery or place them on the tape for long-term storage. For RMAN to store backups on the tape, you must either use Oracle Secure Backup or configure an interface to the tape device known as a Media Management Library (MML). Enterprise Manager supplies a graphical interface to the most commonly used RMAN functionality. Advanced backup and recovery operations are accessible through RMAN’s command-line client. For more information about advanced RMAN capabilities, see the course titled Oracle Database 11g: Administration Workshop II or consult the Oracle Backup and Recovery User’s Guide .
• #10: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Configuring Backup Settings Select Enterprise Manager > Availability > Backup Settings. Here you can manage the persistent backup settings that are used for creating backups. There are separate settings for the disk and the tape. Tape settings depend on the media management library capabilities. Disk settings include: Parallelism: How many separate streams of backup information do you want to create? The best setting for parallelism depends on your hardware. As hardware resources increase, the appropriate degree of parallelism also increases. Generally, you want to set your parallelism to the number of disks that your disk backup location is striped over. For tape backup, you want to set your parallelism to the same number of tape drives that you have. Disk backup location: Where should backups be stored? The default is the fast recovery area. If you change this, click Test Disk Backup to verify that RMAN can write to the new location. Disk backup type: Select Backup Set, Compressed Backup Set, or Image Copy. Click the Backup Set tab to set the maximum file size of backup pieces, specify the compression algorithm to be used for compressed backup sets, and specify redundancy for tape backups. Host credentials are required for Enterprise Manager to save changes to the backup settings.
• #11: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Configuring Backup Settings (continued) Click the Policy tab to: Automatically back up the control file and server parameter file (SPFILE) with each backup. You can also specify a location for these backups if you do not want them to go to the fast recovery area. Optimize backups by not backing up files that exactly match a file that is already part of the retained backups. This setting enables you to skip read-only and offline data files. Enable block change tracking and specify a location for the tracking file. If you intend to create incremental backups, this setting can decrease the time required to choose which blocks to include in the incremental backup. Exclude tablespaces from a whole database backup. Some administrators choose not to back up tablespaces containing data or objects that can be easily re-created (such as indexes or data that is batch-loaded frequently). Specify a retention policy: How long should RMAN keep your backups? If you are using the fast recovery area to store backups, RMAN automatically deletes old backups to make room for new ones (if the retention policy allows it). By default, only the last backup is retained. The retention policy can be specified as a number of backups or a number of days.
• #12: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Scheduling Backups: Strategy Select Enterprise Manager > Availability > Schedule Backup. Select either the Oracle-Suggested Backup strategy or your own customized strategy. The Oracle-Suggested Backup strategy makes a one-time whole-database backup, which is performed online. This is a baseline incremental level 0 backup. The automated backup strategy then schedules incremental level 1 backups for each successive day. For day 3 and onward, RMAN applies the level 1 backup from the beginning of day n-1 to the level 0 backup before beginning the incremental backup for that day. By clicking Schedule Customized Backup, you gain access to a wider range of configuration options. Select the objects that you want to back up —t he whole database (the default) or individual tablespaces, data files, archived logs, or any Oracle backups currently residing on the disk (to move them to the tape). Both strategies enable you to set up encrypted backups.
• #13: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Scheduling Backups: Options Select full or incremental backup type. If you are performing a full database backup, you can select “Use as the base of an incremental backup strategy” to make the full database backup an incremental level 0 backup. If you are using image copies, you can select “Refresh the latest datafile copy on disk to the current time using the incremental backup” to update the existing backup rather than create a new image copy. Select Online Backup if you want to perform this task while users are continuing to use the database. If users do not need access, select “Offline Backup,” which is performed with a mounted instance. Select “Delete obsolete backups” to remove any backups that fall outside the retention policy that you configured earlier. RMAN automatically removes obsolete backups if you are backing up to the fast recovery area. Details about the advanced options and encryption are discussed in the course titled Oracle Database 11g: Administration Workshop II and in the backup and recovery documentation.
• #14: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Scheduling Backups: Settings Select whether the backup is to go to the disk or to the tape. To create a one-time backup (in addition to your regularly scheduled backups), click Override Current Settings and specify your backup settings.
• #15: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Scheduling Backups: Schedule Choose how you want the backup to be scheduled —e ither as a one-time job or as an automated, recurring process. To configure a database for maximum recoverability, Oracle suggests regularly scheduled backups. Automating backups can simplify the administrator’s workload. When you select Repeating, the page displays additional scheduling details.
• #16: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Scheduling Backups: Review RMAN uses its own command syntax and scripting language. Using this page, you can customize the RMAN scripts (if needed) or copy them for recording purposes.
• #17: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Backing Up the Control File to a Trace File Select Enterprise Manager > Server > Control Files to manage your database’s control files. Control files have an additional backup option; they may be backed up to a trace file. A control file trace backup contains the SQL statement required to re-create the control files in the event that all control files are lost. Although it is very unlikely that a properly configured database (with multiple copies of the control file placed on separate disks and separate controllers) would lose all control files at the same time, it is possible. Therefore, the administrator should back up the control file to a trace file after each change to the physical structure of the database (adding tablespaces or data files, or adding additional redo log groups). Trace copies of the control file can be created by using Enterprise Manager (as shown in the slide) or with the following SQL command: SQL> ALTER DATABASE BACKUP CONTROLFILE TO TRACE; The trace backup is created in the location specified by the DIAGNOSTIC_DEST initialization parameter (for example, /u01/app/oracle/diag/rdbms/orcl/orcl/trace with a file name such as orcl_vktm_8400.trc ). You can view information from within the control file on the Advanced tab of the Control Files page.
• #18: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Managing Backups Select Enterprise Manager > Availability > Manage Current Backup to manage your existing backups. On this page, you can see when a backup was completed, where it was created (disk or tape), and whether it is still available. At the top of the Manage Current Backups page, four buttons enable you to work with existing backups: Catalog Additional Files: Although RMAN (working through Enterprise Manager) is the recommended way to create backups, you might have image copies or backup sets that were created by some other means or in some other environment with the result that RMAN is not aware of them. This task identifies those files and adds them to the catalog. Crosscheck All: RMAN can automatically delete obsolete backups, but you can also delete them by using operating system commands. If you delete a backup without using RMAN, the catalog does not know whether the backup is missing until you perform a cross-check between the catalog and what is really there. Delete All Obsolete: This deletes backups older than the retention policy. Delete All Expired: This deletes the catalog listing for any backups that are not found when the cross-check is performed.
• #19: Viewing Backup Reports Information about backup jobs can also be viewed by selecting Enterprise Manager > Availability > Backup Reports. The content is based on the control file. The backup report contains summary information as well as detailed information about the input and output of a specific job, including timing, SCN, sizing, compression, corruption (if any), and so on.
• #20: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Monitoring the Fast Recovery Area If you have configured your archived logs to be written to this location, it is important to monitor this space to ensure that it does not reach its capacity. If the instance is unable to create an archived log because of lack of space, it pauses until the administrator corrects the situation. Select Enterprise Manager > Availability > Recovery Settings. On this page, you can: Verify how much of the fast recovery area has been consumed Specify the location of the fast recovery area Specify the size of the fast recovery area Configure Flashback Database Specify the retention time The retention time determines when files are obsolete (that is, when they are no longer needed to meet your data recovery objectives). The Oracle database automatically manages this storage, deleting files that are no longer needed. When you back up the recovery area, RMAN can fail over to other archived redo log destinations if the archived redo log in the fast recovery area is inaccessible or corrupted. Periodically copying backups to tape frees space in the fast recovery area for other files, but retrieving files from tape causes longer database restoration and recovery times. Note: The Enterprise Manager interface has not yet been updated to reflect the change in name from flash recovery area to fast recovery area.
• #21: Oracle Database 11 g : Administration Workshop I 15 - Using the RMAN Command Line 1. In a terminal session, start RMAN and connect to the target database. 2. Execute configuration commands: CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO disk ; CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK BACKUP TYPE TO COPY ; CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON ; 3. A whole database backup is a copy of all data files and the control file. You can optionally include the server parameter file (SPFILE) and archived redo log files. Using RMAN to make an image copy of all the database files simply requires mounting or opening the database, starting RMAN, and entering the BACKUP command shown in the slide. Optionally, you can supply the DELETE INPUT option when backing up archive log files. That causes RMAN to remove the archive log files after backing them up. This is useful especially if you are not using a fast recovery area, which would perform space management for you, deleting files when space pressure grows. In that case, the command in the slide would look like the following: RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE PLUS ARCHIVELOG DELETE INPUT; You can also create a backup (either a backup set or image copies) of previous image copies of all data files and control files in the database by using the following command: RMAN> BACKUP COPY OF DATABASE;
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