Book Image

Oracle Database 12c Backup and Recovery Survival Guide

Book Image

Oracle Database 12c Backup and Recovery Survival Guide

Overview of this book

The three main responsibilities of a successful DBA are to ensure the availability, recoverability, and performance of any database. To ensure the recoverability of any database, a DBA needs to have a strong backup and recovery skills set. Every DBA is always looking for a reference book that will help them to solve any possible backup and recovery situation that they can come across in their professional life. Oracle Database 12c Backup and Recovery Survival Guide has the unique advantage to be a reference to all Oracle backup and recovery options available, making it essential for any DBA in the world. If you are new to Oracle Database, this book will introduce you to the fantastic world of backup and recovery that is vital to your success. If you are an experienced DBA, this book will become a reference guide and will also help you to learn some possible new skills, or give you some new ideas you were never aware about. It will also help you to easily find the solution to some of the most well known problems you could find during your career as a DBA. This book contains useful screenshots, scripts, and examples that you will find more than useful. Most of the books currently available in the market concentrate only on the RMAN utility to backup and recovery. This book will be an exception to the rule and will become a must-have reference, allowing you to design a real and complete backup and recovery strategy. It covers the most important topics on Oracle database such as backup strategies, Nologging operations, new features in 12c, user managed backups and recoveries, RMAN (including reporting, catalog management, troubleshooting, and performance tuning), advanced data pump, Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c and SQL Developer. "Oracle Database 12c Backup and Recovery Survival Guide" contains everything a DBA needs to know to keep data safe and recoverable, using real-life scenarios.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
Oracle Database 12c Backup and Recovery Survival Guide
Credits
About the Author
Acknowledgement
About the Author
Acknowledgement
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Introducing RMAN backup formats


RMAN maintains its backups in the formats specific to it. As a result, backups taken by RMAN are usable only through it. There are two formats of backup supported in RMAN, namely:

  • Backup set

  • Image copy

RMAN can secure backups in the previously mentioned formats in both the consistent mode (aka COLD mode), that is, when the database is closed, as well as in the inconsistent mode (aka HOT mode), that is, when the database is in the OPEN stage.

Let's delve deeper to gain a proper understanding of the previous mentioned formats.

Backup sets

A backup set bears close resemblance to the OS directories which are used to store multiple files or the tablespaces within the database which contain one or multiple data files within them. Like an OS directory or database tablespace, a backup set is also a logical structure only. A logical backup set contains within it a physical RMAN-specific file which is considered as the real backup of its source file, that is, a data file...