Backup3G/DA-RMAN/User Guide/Defining Oracle RMAN Backups

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Oracle backups are configured in much the same as other backup jobs:

you define a backup item for each data object or in this case, Oracle SID, to be backed up
you define backup jobs to back up one or more items at the scheduled time to a particular drive or drive pool

The main differences are:

in the backup item you use an Oracle/RMAN-specific backup method instead of one of the standard UNIX methods
the data object refers to an Oracle SID and not to a filesystem or directory

This section describes the ways you can back up Oracle databases, the Oracle/RMAN-specific backup methods, and how to define backup items. Defining, scheduling, and monitoring backup jobs is described in the backup3G User Guide.

1 Types of Oracle/RMAN Backup
2 Defining Oracle Backups
- 2.1 How to Define a Backup Item

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Types of Oracle/RMAN Backup

Oracle/RMAN Backup uses Oracle and Recovery Manager (RMAN) facilities to start up and shut down databases, and to find the names of tablespaces and archived logs to be backed up. Once the object names have been obtained, they are backed up using the RMAN API facility (library) provided as part of DA for Oracle/RMAN.

What happens if a step fails

If any step in the backup job returns a non-zero exit status, the backup job terminates. In this event DA-RMAN does not try to change the database mode or attempt any other recovery action.

You should diagnose the problem to see whether it occurred in an Oracle operation or a backup command, then if possible fix the problem and resubmit the backup job.

‘Exit status 2’ usually indicates a usage error in the backup command, such as an unrecognized option or an incorrect number of arguments. Other exit statuses are dependent on the backup method—check the manual page for the command that reported the error.

Any previous steps that wrote to the tape and completed successfully may be restored from, but depending on the type of backup may not be worth recovering.

The DBA should examine the reason for failure and the type of object in the successful backup steps to see whether they can be usefully recovered.

Two versions of Oracle installed on a host

For each Oracle Instance to be backed up you will need to first define the instances. Each instance maybe owned by a different user and have different connect strings.

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Export Backup

Note: DA-RMAN does not support export at this stage.

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Defining Oracle Backups

You must define a backup item for each type of backup that you want to perform on a database instance. For example, if the monthly cycle of backups for a particular database includes online and offline backups, and backups of archived redo log files, you will need to define four backup items.

Once you have defined all your backup items, you must define a set of backup jobs to back up these items at the scheduled times. See How to Define a Backup Job in the backup3G User Guide.

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How to Define a Backup Item

A backup item describes the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of a backup. It identifies the host name and Oracle SID, and the method that will be used to back it up.

How you specify the exact Oracle object to be backed up depends on the backup method.

Each backup method calls a driver script to back up the data. Table 2 shows the backup command and other attributes for the Oracle/RMAN backup method.

**Table 2 - Oracle backup methods**
Oracle Data Object	Backup By	Level	Format	Driver Script
Full SID	Database	Level 0	rman	RMANbackup
Full SID	Tablespace	Level 0	rman	RMANbackup
Differential SID (incr cummulative)	Database	Level 1	rman	RMANbackup
Differential SID (incr cummulative)	Tablespace	Level 1	rman	RMANbackup
Archive logs	Option to include	Level 0/1	rman	RMANbackup
Control file	Option to include	Level 0/1	rman	RMANbackup
SP file	Option to include	Level 0/1	rman	RMANbackup

You can use the Options field to pass extra flags and arguments to the backup command. To see what options are supported by each method, press the Options button on the backup item form.

Note: These options are not validated when you define the backup item, but are simply passed to the backup command to be evaluated at run time.

To define an Oracle database backup item

Select backup3G configuration > Maintain backup jobs.
Select Items > Maintain to display the list of existing backup items, then select Maintain > Add.
Host
Select the host on which the database is stored. If you want to back up the same database on multiple hosts, you must define a separate backup item for each.
Folder/Object
Enter the SID of the instance to be backed up. Make sure that it is correct, as backup3G doesn’t check that it exists at this point.
Format
Select 'rman'.
Method
Press Choose to list the 'rman' backup methods and choose 'oracle RMAN'.
Options
Press Options to display RMAN backup options (see below).
Comment
Enter a descriptive comment.
On error
Should the backup job continue if this step fails?

Select ‘continue’ if the job should continue after an error in this step.
Select ‘abort’ if the job should not continue.
Press Accept to save this item.

To define RMAN backup item options

Type: Select 'full' for a level 0 backup.
Select 'differential' for a level 1 backup.
By: Select 'tablespace' to backup the SID where each tblespace will be a backup piece.
Select 'database' to backup the entire SID as one backup piece.; Note - Each backup piece must fit onto a single tape, other wise a new tape will be loaded and the backup of that piece will be attempted again.
Control file?: Check 'yes' to backup the control file after backing up the database or tablespaces.
Spfile?: Check 'yes' to backup the SP file after backing up the database or tablespaces.
Archive logs?: Check 'yes' to backup the archived log files after backing up the database or tablespaces.
Include tablespaces: Only backup these tablespaces in this backup step.
Exclude tablespaces: Do not backup these tablespaces.

To define an Oracle shutdown or startup item

Select backup3G configuration > Maintain backup jobs.
Select Items > Maintain to display the list of existing backup items, then select Maintain > Add.
Host
Select the host on which the database is stored.
Folder/Object
Enter the SID of the instance to be shutdown or started.
Format
Leave blank.
Method
Press Choose to list the methods and choose 'oracle stop/start'.
Options
Press Options to display 'oracle stop/start' options.

Select ‘shutdown’ to shutdown the database. The database will be shutdown, then started, but only mounted ready for an 'offline' backup.
Select ‘startup’ to start the database again ready for end users to access.

Comment
Enter a descriptive comment.
On error
Should the backup job continue if this step fails?

Select ‘continue’ if the job should continue after an error in this step.
Select ‘abort’ if the job should not continue.
Press Accept to save this item.

Note: To perform an offline backup, you need to create a 'shutdown' item and a 'startup' item. When you order the steps in your backup job the backup item will go between these two items.

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Retrieved from "https://documentation.fs.com.au/index.php/Backup3G/DA-RMAN/User_Guide/Defining_Oracle_RMAN_Backups"

 == Types of Oracle/RMAN Backup ==
-This topic describes the different methods for backing up Oracle databases.
 Oracle/RMAN Backup uses Oracle and Recovery Manager (RMAN) facilities to start up and shut down databases, and to find the names of tablespaces and archived logs to be backed up. Once the object names have been obtained, they are backed up using the RMAN API facility (library) provided as part of DA for Oracle/RMAN.
 === Offline Backup ===
-{| border="1" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"
-|-
-|Backup method
-|Oracle offline
-|-
-|Backup command
-|ORAofflne
-|}
-'''Steps'''
-backup3G performs the following steps when you back up a database using the ‘Oracle offline’ method.
-#Shut down the database.
-#Bring the database back in a restricted mode.
-#Query the database to find the relevant files (control files, redo logs and tablespaces) and store their locations in a COSmanager table.
-#Shut down the database.
-#Back up files.
-#Restart the database.
-'''Notes'''
-The tablespaces are backed up using a multi-part image. The control files and the redo logs are backed up using cpio. ORAofflne follows symbolic links—that is, it backs up the target of any link, not just the link itself.
-If the database is online when the backup job starts, DA-Oracle will try to shut it down. If the database cannot be shut down or restarted in restricted mode, the
-backup job will exit.
-By default, DA-Oracle will bring the database back online after an offline backup ends. You can override this in the backup item definition by specifying -d in the Options field.
 <br>
 === Online Backup ===
-{| border="1" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"
-|-
-|Backup method
-|Oracle online
-|-
-|Backup command
-|ORAonline
-|}
-'''Steps'''
-backup3G performs the following steps when you back up a database or selected tablespaces using the ‘Oracle online’ method.
-#Query the database to find the relevant files (control files, archive logs and tablespaces) and store their locations in a COSmanager table.
-#Put the tablespace into backup mode.
-#Back up the tablespace.
-#Bring the tablespace back online.
-#Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each tablespace.
-#Switch the redo log files to close the backup (as far as Oracle is concerned).
-#Back up the archived redo log files.
-#Back up the control file to a disk file, then back up to tape.
-'''Notes'''
-The database must be run in ARCHIVELOG mode and must be online when the backup job starts. If the database is offline or if DA-Oracle can’t find the location of the relevant files, the backup job will exit.
-This provides a complete snapshot of the database or selected tablespaces at the completion of the backup (not the start). Only one tablespace is taken offline and backed up at a time.
-The tablespaces are backed up using a multi-part image. The control files and the redo logs are backed up using cpio. ORAofflne follows symbolic links—that is, it backs up the target of any link, not just the link itself.
 <br>
 === Archive Log Backup ===
-{| border="1" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"
-|-
-|Backup method
-|Oracle archive
-|-
-|Backup command
-|ORAarch
-|}
-'''Steps'''
-#Query the database to find the redo log files and archive destination.
-#Switch the redo log files to close the backup (as far as Oracle is concerned).
-#Back up the archived redo logs.
-'''Notes'''
-This should be performed frequently (several times per day or hour) from an automatic backup job.
-We recommend that you append each days backups to a single media set, to make restores faster and to use tapes more efficiently.
-The backup is written in cpio format, so you can restore files from the command line using cpio if necessary.
-The database must be online when the backup job starts.
-If the redo log files can’t be found (for example if they have already been compressed or removed) the backup job will return exit status 2 and terminate.
 <br>
-'''To define a backup item'''
+'''To define an Oracle database backup item'''
 #Select backup3G configuration > Maintain backup jobs.
 #;Folder/Object:Enter the SID of the instance to be backed up. Make sure that it is correct, as backup3G doesn’t check that it exists at this point.
 #;Format:Select 'rman'.
-#;Method:Press Choose to list the 'rman' backup methods.
+#;Method:Press Choose to list the 'rman' backup methods and choose 'oracle RMAN'.
-#;Options:Enter any optional flags and arguments to be passed to the backup command at run time. For example, enter -u username to specify another Oracle version if more than one copy of Oracle is installed on this host.
+#;Options:Press Options to display RMAN backup options (see below).
-#;:You can see what other options this backup method supports by checking the man page for the corresponding backup driver script. [[#How to Define a Backup Item|Table 2]] shows what driver script is run by each Oracle backup method.
-#;:'''Note -''' Use double quotes around file patterns to ensure that they are parsed correctly.
 #;Comment:Enter a descriptive comment.
 #;On error:Should the backup job continue if this step fails?
 #;:Select ‘abort’ if the job should not continue.
 #Press Accept to save this item.
+'''To define RMAN backup item options'''
+::;Type:Select 'full' for a level 0 backup.<br>Select 'differential' for a level 1 backup.
+::;By:Select 'tablespace' to backup the SID where each tblespace will be a backup piece.<br>Select 'database' to backup the entire SID as one backup piece.
+:::'''Note - ''' Each backup piece must fit onto a single tape, other wise a new tape will be loaded and the backup of that piece will be attempted again.
+::;Control file?:Check 'yes' to backup the control file after backing up the database or tablespaces.
+::;Spfile?:Check 'yes' to backup the SP file after backing up the database or tablespaces.
+::;Archive logs?:Check 'yes' to backup the archived log files after backing up the database or tablespaces.
+::;Include tablespaces:Only backup these tablespaces in this backup step.
+::;Exclude tablespaces:Do not backup these tablespaces.
+'''To define an Oracle shutdown or startup item'''
+#Select backup3G configuration > Maintain backup jobs.
+#Select Items > Maintain to display the list of existing backup items, then select Maintain > Add.
+#;Host:Select the host on which the database is stored.
+#;Folder/Object:Enter the SID of the instance to be shutdown or started.
+#;Format:Leave blank.
+#;Method:Press Choose to list the methods and choose 'oracle stop/start'.
+#;Options:Press Options to display 'oracle stop/start' options.
+#;:Select ‘shutdown’ to shutdown the database.  The database will be shutdown, then started, but only mounted ready for an 'offline' backup.
+#;:Select ‘startup’ to start the database again ready for end users to access.
+#;Comment:Enter a descriptive comment.
+#;On error:Should the backup job continue if this step fails?
+#;:Select ‘continue’ if the job should continue after an error in this step.
+#;:Select ‘abort’ if the job should not continue.
+#Press Accept to save this item.
+----
+;Note: To perform an offline backup, you need to create a 'shutdown' item and a 'startup' item.  When you order the steps in your backup job the backup item will go between these two items.
+----

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Backup3G/DA-RMAN/User Guide/Defining Oracle RMAN Backups

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Contents

Types of Oracle/RMAN Backup

Offline Backup

Online Backup

Archive Log Backup

Export Backup

Defining Oracle Backups

How to Define a Backup Item