On several occasions, people have asked me about the differences between restore and recovery. Due to these questions, I will take this opportunity to explain the difference in some simple words to make it clear:
Restore: It is the act that involves the restoration of all files that will be required to recover your database to a consistent state, for example, copying all backup files from a secondary location such as tape or storage to your stage area
Recovery: It is the process to apply all transactions recorded in your archive logs, rolling your database forward to a point-in-time or until the last transaction recorded is applied, thus recovering your database to the point-in-time you need
You will see some examples of how restore and recovery work later in this book. Now let's take a closer look at what is redo log and the two possible modes your database could be operating in. This will help you understand in a bit more in depth what type of backup and recovery you could use on your environment.