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Oracle Database 10g

From Nuts to Soup
First Edition (Build 030)

Written by Mark Johnson

Owner and Principal Database Engineer
Remington Database Solutions, LLC

Oracle Database 10g:

From Nuts to Soup
First Edition

Mark Johnson
Owner and Principal Database Engineer
Remington Database Solutions, LLC

Published By:
Remington Database Solutions, LLC
Mark Johnson, Owner
21397 Fitzgerald Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147-5814, U.S.A.
http://www.RemiData.com/
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Legal Notices
Copyright 2006 by Mark Johnson. All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
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Contacting the Author
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This book is dedicated to the memory of

the students and faculty of Virginia
Tech whose lives were lost on April 16,
2007.
And
In loving memory of my mother-inlaw, Dr. Margaret S. Murray, Mimi.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introductions................................................................................................ 47
About this Book ........................................................................................................ 48
About the Title .......................................................................................................... 48
Covered Versions of Oracle....................................................................................... 49
Audience................................................................................................................... 49
Organization.............................................................................................................. 49
Disclaimers ............................................................................................................... 50
About the Author ...................................................................................................... 50
Chapter 2: What Is a Database....................................................................................... 51
Database Defined ...................................................................................................... 52
Goals of Databases .................................................................................................... 52
Data Independence ................................................................................................ 53
Minimize Redundancy........................................................................................... 53
Remove Programmer Ownership ........................................................................... 54
History of Databases ................................................................................................. 54
Types of Databases.................................................................................................... 56
Hierarchical........................................................................................................... 56
Network ................................................................................................................ 56
Relational .............................................................................................................. 56
Object-Oriented..................................................................................................... 57
Object-Relational .................................................................................................. 58
E. F. Codds 12 Rules for Relational Data Bases ....................................................... 59
Rule 0: Unnamed Rule ......................................................................................... 60
Rule 1: The Information Rule ................................................................................ 60
Rule 2: Guaranteed Access Rule............................................................................ 60
Rule 3: Systematic Treatment of Null Values ........................................................ 60
Rule 4: Dynamic On-Line Catalog Based on the Relational Model ........................ 61
Rule 5: Comprehensive Data Sub-language Rule ................................................... 61
Rule 6: View Updating Rule.................................................................................. 61
Rule 7: High-level Insert, Update, and Delete........................................................ 61
Rule 8: Physical Data Independence ...................................................................... 61
Rule 9: Logical Data Independence ....................................................................... 61
Rule 10: Integrity Independence ............................................................................ 62
Rule 11: Distribution Independence....................................................................... 62
Rule 12: Non-Subversion Rule .............................................................................. 62
Normalization and Normal Forms ............................................................................. 62
First Normal Form (1NF) ...................................................................................... 63
Second Normal Form (2NF) .................................................................................. 63
Third Normal Form (3NF) ..................................................................................... 63
Boyce-Codd (BCNF)............................................................................................. 63
Fourth Normal Form (4NF) ................................................................................... 63
Fifth Normal Form (5NF) ...................................................................................... 64

Table of Contents
Types of Database Objects ........................................................................................ 64
Tables and Columns .............................................................................................. 64
Creating Tables ................................................................................................. 65
Altering Tables .................................................................................................. 66
Rows Represent Data......................................................................................... 67
About Table Segments....................................................................................... 67
About Extents.................................................................................................... 68
External Tables...................................................................................................... 70
Creating External Tables ................................................................................... 70
Describing External Tables................................................................................ 71
Finding External Tables..................................................................................... 71
Index-Organized Tables (IOT)............................................................................... 72
The INCLUDING and OVERFLOW Clauses.................................................... 73
IOT Mapping Tables ......................................................................................... 75
IOT Dictionary Views ....................................................................................... 75
Keys and Constraints............................................................................................. 76
Primary Key Constraints.................................................................................... 76
Foreign Key Constraints .................................................................................... 78
Unique Key Constraints..................................................................................... 79
Not Null Constraints.......................................................................................... 80
Check Constraints.............................................................................................. 80
Indexes.................................................................................................................. 81
Triggers................................................................................................................. 82
Creating Triggers On The Fly ............................................................................ 83
Triggers on Views ............................................................................................. 84
Triggers on Schemas ......................................................................................... 84
Triggers at the Database Level........................................................................... 85
A Problem with Timestamps.............................................................................. 86
Sequence Generators ............................................................................................. 86
Replication Notes for Sequences........................................................................ 88
RAC Notes for Sequences ................................................................................. 89
Synonyms.............................................................................................................. 90
Public Synonyms ............................................................................................... 90
Views .................................................................................................................... 92
Permissions for Views ....................................................................................... 93
Packages, Procedures, and Functions..................................................................... 94
Database Links ...................................................................................................... 95
Creating Database Links .................................................................................... 96
Using Database Links ........................................................................................ 97
Make DB Links Neat with Synonyms............................................................. 97
Using Database Links for Streams Replication .................................................. 98
Database Link Pitfalls........................................................................................ 98
Database Languages and Command Types ................................................................ 98
Data Modeling and Database Design ....................................................................... 100
Terminology and Concepts.................................................................................. 101

Table of Contents
Entity Types .................................................................................................... 101
Entities ............................................................................................................ 101
Supertype Entities........................................................................................ 101
Parent and Child Entities ............................................................................. 101
Associative Entity Types ............................................................................. 102
Entity Instances ........................................................................................... 103
Attributes......................................................................................................... 103
Identifiers & Keys ....................................................................................... 103
Optionality ...................................................................................................... 104
Cardinality....................................................................................................... 104
Relationships ................................................................................................... 105
Normalization.................................................................................................. 106
CASE .............................................................................................................. 107
CRUD ............................................................................................................. 107
Data Modeling and Database Design Tasks ......................................................... 108
Phases ............................................................................................................. 108
Activities ......................................................................................................... 109
Breakdown of Phases and Activities ................................................................ 109
The Conceptual Data Modeling (CDM) Phase ............................................. 109
The Logical Data Modeling (LDM) Phase ................................................... 111
The Physical Data Modeling (PDM) Phase .................................................. 113
The Logical Database Design (LDD) Phase ................................................. 117
The Physical Database Design (PDD) Phase ................................................ 120
Units of Measure ..................................................................................................... 122
The Legacy Standard........................................................................................... 123
The New Standard............................................................................................... 124
Chapter 3: What is Oracle ........................................................................................... 126
Oracle Trivia ....................................................................................................... 126
Oracle, The Company.............................................................................................. 127
The Link Between Oracle and IBM System R ..................................................... 128
Oracle Trivia ....................................................................................................... 129
Oracle, The ORDBMS ............................................................................................ 130
Oracle Version 1.................................................................................................. 130
Oracle Version 2.................................................................................................. 130
Oracle Version 3.................................................................................................. 131
Oracle Version 4.................................................................................................. 131
Oracle Version 5.................................................................................................. 131
Oracle Version 6.................................................................................................. 131
Oracle Version 7.................................................................................................. 131
Oracle Version 8.................................................................................................. 131
Oracle Version 9.................................................................................................. 132
Oracle Version 10................................................................................................ 132
Oracle Version 11................................................................................................ 133
Oracles Competition .............................................................................................. 133
Summary of Differences...................................................................................... 133

Table of Contents
A Quick Story about Product Selection............................................................ 135
SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition.................................................................... 135
Scalability and Licensing................................................................................. 136
Physical Characteristics ................................................................................... 137
Logical Characteristics .................................................................................... 140
Sybase ASE 12.5................................................................................................. 141
PostgreSQL......................................................................................................... 143
Chapter 4: The Oracle Database Administrator............................................................ 145
What Do DBAs Do ................................................................................................. 146
The Times Are a Changing...................................................................................... 146
Optional / Preliminary Duties of a DBA .................................................................. 146
Identify Hardware and Operating System Requirements. ..................................... 146
Configure the Hardware and Operating System ................................................... 147
Basic Duties of the DBA ......................................................................................... 147
Design the Physical Database .............................................................................. 148
Update the Physical Data Model.......................................................................... 148
Define Standards and Naming Conventions ......................................................... 149
Install the Oracle Server Software ....................................................................... 149
Define and Manage Database Security................................................................. 150
Monitor and Tune Database Performance ............................................................ 150
Plan and Implement the Backup and Recovery Plan ............................................ 150
Troubleshooting .................................................................................................. 151
Routine Maintenance........................................................................................... 151
Post-Implementation DBA Duties ........................................................................... 152
Capacity Expansion Planning .............................................................................. 152
Programming Assistance ..................................................................................... 152
Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 153
Upgrades and Migrations..................................................................................... 153
Documentation .................................................................................................... 154
Evaluate New Software ....................................................................................... 155
Chapter 5: Are You Certified ...................................................................................... 156
The Goal ................................................................................................................. 157
Why Get Certified ................................................................................................... 157
Oracle 10g Certification Requirements.................................................................... 158
10g OCA............................................................................................................. 158
10g OCP.............................................................................................................. 159
10g OCM ............................................................................................................ 160
10g Accreditations............................................................................................... 161
Where to Get Training............................................................................................. 161
Scheduling an Exam................................................................................................ 162
Taking an Exam ...................................................................................................... 163
Compare The Oracle9i and 10g OCP Requirements ................................................ 164
Links to More Information ...................................................................................... 165

Table of Contents
Chapter 6: Oracle10g New Features ............................................................................ 166
Cross-Platform New Features (No-Cost) ................................................................. 167
Automatic Optimizer Statistics Collection ........................................................... 167
Automatic Shared Memory Management (ASMM) ............................................. 168
Bigfile Tablespaces ............................................................................................. 171
Buffer Cache Flushing......................................................................................... 172
Data Pump Import and Export ............................................................................. 173
Data Types (BINARY_FLOAT and BINARY_DOUBLE).................................. 173
Database Password Encryption (Logins).............................................................. 174
DBMS_CRYPTO................................................................................................ 175
DBMS_OUTPUT Unlimited Output.................................................................... 176
Default User Tablespace...................................................................................... 177
DML Error Logging ............................................................................................ 178
Prerequisites .................................................................................................... 179
Limitations ...................................................................................................... 179
Understanding DBMS_ERRLOG.CREATE_ERROR_LOG............................ 180
Creating an Error Log Table ............................................................................ 181
Using DML Error Logging .............................................................................. 182
Dropping DML Error Log Tables .................................................................... 183
Drop Database Command.................................................................................... 183
External Procedure Scheduling ............................................................................ 184
Feature Usage Tracking....................................................................................... 184
Guaranteed Undo Retention................................................................................. 184
HTML DB........................................................................................................... 186
What is HTML DB .......................................................................................... 186
Oracle HTML DB to Be Renamed Oracle Application Express (APEX).......... 187
Installation Process.......................................................................................... 187
Installation Issues ............................................................................................ 189
URLs for Using and Maintaining HTML DB................................................... 190
Getting Started with HTML DB....................................................................... 191
HTML DB Security Issues............................................................................... 191
Memory Corruption Checking ............................................................................. 192
OEM Database Cloning....................................................................................... 192
OEM MetaLink Integration ................................................................................. 192
OEM Oracle Home Cloning ................................................................................ 193
OEM for Net Configuration................................................................................. 193
Online Segment Shrink........................................................................................ 193
Proactive Tablespace Monitoring......................................................................... 195
Recycle Bin......................................................................................................... 195
Redo Logfile Sizing Advisor ............................................................................... 195
Regular Expressions ............................................................................................ 196
Remote Function Calls ........................................................................................ 197
Rename Tablespace ............................................................................................. 197
Row Timestamp .................................................................................................. 197
Scheduler ............................................................................................................ 198

Table of Contents
SQL*Plus Proxy User Logins .............................................................................. 199
Tablespace Repositories and File Groups............................................................. 201
Temporary Tablespace Groups ............................................................................ 201
Undo Retention Tuning ....................................................................................... 204
Upgrade Information Tools ................................................................................. 204
User Defined Quoting Characters ........................................................................ 205
Versioned Tablespaces ........................................................................................ 206
VPD Column Level Security ............................................................................... 208
Cross-Platform New Features (Additional Cost)...................................................... 209
Automatic Database Diagnostics Monitor (ADDM) ............................................ 209
Active Session History (ASH) ............................................................................. 212
Automatic Workload Repository (AWR) ............................................................. 213
RMAN Encrypted Backups ................................................................................. 213
Segment Advisor ................................................................................................. 214
Identifying Candidates for Online Segment Shrink .......................................... 214
Estimating a Segments Future Size................................................................. 214
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) .................................................................... 214
The Wallet and Master Encryption Key ........................................................... 216
The Encryption Key Table............................................................................... 217
TDE Security Issues ........................................................................................ 217
TDE Replication Issues ................................................................................... 218
Undo Tablespace Sizing Advisor......................................................................... 218
New Features for the Windows Platform ................................................................. 220
Large Page Support ............................................................................................. 220
NUMA Support................................................................................................... 221
Windows Fibers Support ..................................................................................... 221
Oracle Database for 64-Bit Windows................................................................... 222
What is Not Supported under 64-Bit Oracle for Windows................................ 222
Enhancements to Existing Features and Options...................................................... 223
DBCA Support for RAC and ASM...................................................................... 223
Flashback ............................................................................................................ 224
Globalization / Unicode....................................................................................... 224
LOB Sizes ........................................................................................................... 224
ODBC Support For Linux ................................................................................... 225
OEM Configuration Using the OUI ..................................................................... 225
Oracle Net Easy Connect..................................................................................... 225
OUI ..................................................................................................................... 226
Partitioning Enhancements .................................................................................. 226
RMAN Block Change Tracking........................................................................... 226
RMAN Compressed Backups .............................................................................. 227
Streams Improvements ........................................................................................ 228
VPD Support for Parallel Queries........................................................................ 228
VPD Static Security Polices................................................................................. 229
What 10g Lacks ...................................................................................................... 229
Larger VARCHAR2 Columns ............................................................................. 229

Table of Contents
Longer Object Names.......................................................................................... 230
An Easy Way to Switch Between Oracle Homes ................................................. 230
A Better Installer and a Fool Proof Un-Installer ................................................... 231
Replicable Sequence Generators.......................................................................... 231
Chapter 7: Oracle Server Software .............................................................................. 233
A Quick Heads Up .................................................................................................. 234
Which Edition of Oracle Should You Use?.............................................................. 234
Enterprise Edition................................................................................................ 234
Standard Edition.................................................................................................. 234
Standard Edition One .......................................................................................... 235
Personal Edition .................................................................................................. 235
Lite Edition ......................................................................................................... 235
Express Edition (XE)........................................................................................... 235
Which Version of Oracle Should You Use .............................................................. 238
About Release Numbers ...................................................................................... 239
Descriptions of Core Features and Options .............................................................. 240
Oracle Database 10g............................................................................................ 240
Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) ............................................................. 241
Oracle Advanced Security (ASO) ........................................................................ 241
Oracle Partitioning .............................................................................................. 241
Oracle Spatial...................................................................................................... 242
Oracle Label Security .......................................................................................... 242
Oracle OLAP....................................................................................................... 242
Oracle Data Mining Scoring Engine .................................................................... 242
Oracle Net Listener ............................................................................................. 242
Oracle COM Automation Features ...................................................................... 243
Oracle Connection Manager ................................................................................ 243
Oracle Development Kit ...................................................................................... 243
Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) 10g Database Control.................................... 243
Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) 10g Grid Control........................................... 245
Oracle Transparent Gateways .............................................................................. 246
iSQL*Plus ........................................................................................................... 246
Descriptions of OEM Options ................................................................................. 247
Oracle Configuration Management Pack.............................................................. 247
Oracle Change Management Pack ....................................................................... 247
Oracle Diagnostics Pack ...................................................................................... 247
Oracle Tuning Pack ............................................................................................. 247
Descriptions of Windows-Specific Install Options................................................... 247
Oracle Windows Documentation ......................................................................... 248
Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) .................................... 248
Oracle Administration Assistant for Windows ..................................................... 248
Oracle Counters for Windows Performance Monitor ........................................... 249
Oracle Objects for OLE (OO4O) ......................................................................... 250
Oracle ODBC Driver ........................................................................................... 250
Oracle Provider for OLE DB ............................................................................... 250

Table of Contents
Oracle Data Provider for .NET ............................................................................ 250
Descriptions of New 10.2 Software ......................................................................... 251
Oracle Audit Vault .............................................................................................. 251
Oracle Content DB .............................................................................................. 252
Oracle Database Vault ......................................................................................... 253
Overview......................................................................................................... 253
Components .................................................................................................... 254
Requirements................................................................................................... 255
Installation....................................................................................................... 256
Administration................................................................................................. 256
Oracle Records DB.............................................................................................. 256
Oracle Secure Backup ......................................................................................... 257
Oracle Secure Enterprise Search (SES)................................................................ 258
Oracle TimesTen In-Memory Database ............................................................... 259
Installing Oracle10g Server ..................................................................................... 260
Get Your Stuff Together...................................................................................... 261
What You Should Know Before You Begin the Installation................................. 261
Pre-Installation Steps........................................................................................... 262
Known Issues Installing 10g................................................................................ 262
Launching the Oracle Universal Installer ............................................................. 263
Step-by-Step Instructions..................................................................................... 264
Full Install: an Example....................................................................................... 272
Post Installation Tasks............................................................................................. 276
Task 1: Install Java Native Compiler (NCOMP) .................................................. 276
Task 2: Install the Latest Patchset ........................................................................ 276
Task 3: Get the Latest Security Patches ............................................................... 279
Task 4: Defrag Your Disks .................................................................................. 280
Task 5: Backup the Server ................................................................................... 281
Un-Installing Oracle Server ..................................................................................... 281
About Silent Installs ................................................................................................ 283
Installing Oracle 10g Express Edition (XE) ............................................................. 284
Chapter 8: Oracle Client Software............................................................................... 291
What Software Constitutes Oracle Client................................................................. 292
Three Enterprise Manager Clients?.......................................................................... 293
Client Installation Packages..................................................................................... 294
Instant Client ....................................................................................................... 294
Administrator ...................................................................................................... 295
Runtime............................................................................................................... 295
Custom................................................................................................................ 296
What Files Need To Be Stored on the Client ........................................................... 297
What Does Client Mean, Anyways ...................................................................... 297
A Progression of Client-Server Models................................................................ 297
Thin-Client or Fat................................................................................................ 299
Installing Oracle10g Client...................................................................................... 299
Which CD ........................................................................................................... 299

Table of Contents
Who Should Install Software ............................................................................... 300
Step-By-Step Instructions .................................................................................... 300
Getting Patches and Critical Updates....................................................................... 307
Un-Installing Oracle Client...................................................................................... 308
Mixing Versions of Oracle Client and Server .......................................................... 310
About Silent Installs ................................................................................................ 310
Chapter 9: Owning Multiple Oracle Homes................................................................. 311
What is an Oracle Home.......................................................................................... 312
What is Multi-Home Oracle .................................................................................... 312
Do Not Mix Software in an Oracle Home................................................................ 313
Why Switch Between Oracle Homes ....................................................................... 313
How To Switch Between Oracle Homes.................................................................. 314
Chapter 10: Understanding System Requirements ....................................................... 317
Do You Need a Server Operating System? .............................................................. 318
Which Windows Operating Systems are Certified to Run Oracle Server .............. 318
About UNIX Operating System Requirements..................................................... 319
System Requirements: How Low Can You Go? ...................................................... 321
Recommended Minimum Hardware ........................................................................ 322
CPU .................................................................................................................... 322
RAM ................................................................................................................... 322
Video .................................................................................................................. 322
Hard Disk............................................................................................................ 323
RAID .................................................................................................................. 323
Other Storage Devices ......................................................................................... 324
Production Minimums ............................................................................................. 324
CPU .................................................................................................................... 324
RAM ................................................................................................................... 325
Video .................................................................................................................. 326
Hard Disk............................................................................................................ 326
RAID Considerations .......................................................................................... 327
Living Large - How Big Can I Make My Server? .................................................... 327
RAC Factors ........................................................................................................... 328
Chapter 11: The Oracle Server Architecture ................................................................ 330
Additional ASM Background Processes .................................................................. 330
ASMB..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ARBn...................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
RBAL...................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Additional File Mapping Processes ......................................................................... 331
FMON..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
FMPUTL................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
The Big Picture ....................................................................................................... 334
Instances and Services............................................................................................. 335
Memory Structures.................................................................................................. 336

Table of Contents
Granule ............................................................................................................... 336
System Global Area (SGA) Structures................................................................. 338
Database Buffer Cache .................................................................................... 338
Buffer Pools ................................................................................................ 340
The Hit Ratio............................................................................................... 340
Various nK Buffer Cache................................................................................. 341
Flashback Buffer ............................................................................................. 343
Java Pool ......................................................................................................... 345
Large Pool....................................................................................................... 345
Oracle Storage Management (OSM) Buffer ..................................................... 347
Redo Log Buffer Cache ................................................................................... 347
Shared Pool ..................................................................................................... 348
The Data Dictionary Cache.......................................................................... 348
The Library Cache ....................................................................................... 349
Flashback Database Buffer .......................................................................... 349
Active Session History Buffer...................................................................... 350
Fixed Area................................................................................................... 350
Shared Pool Sizing and Tuning .................................................................... 350
Streams Pool.................................................................................................... 352
Program Global Area (PGA) Structures............................................................... 352
The Stack Space Area...................................................................................... 353
The User Session Data Area ............................................................................ 353
The Cursor State Area ..................................................................................... 353
The Sort Area .................................................................................................. 354
Allocating Memory to SGA and PGA Components ............................................. 354
Background Processes ............................................................................................. 356
The Mandatory Background Processes ................................................................ 356
When Do Background Processes Start ................................................................. 357
SMON................................................................................................................. 358
PMON................................................................................................................. 358
DBWn................................................................................................................. 359
CKPT .................................................................................................................. 360
LGWR ................................................................................................................ 360
ARCn.................................................................................................................. 361
RECO.................................................................................................................. 361
Dnnn ................................................................................................................... 361
Snnn.................................................................................................................... 362
CJQn ................................................................................................................... 362
Jnnn..................................................................................................................... 363
QMNn................................................................................................................. 363
MMAN ............................................................................................................... 363
MMON ............................................................................................................... 364
MMNL................................................................................................................ 365
Pnnn.................................................................................................................... 365
PSPn ................................................................................................................... 365

Table of Contents
RVWR ................................................................................................................ 365
CTWR................................................................................................................. 366
Additional ASM Background Processes .................................................................. 366
ASMB................................................................................................................. 366
ARBn.................................................................................................................. 366
RBAL.................................................................................................................. 367
Additional Data Pump Background Processes ......................................................... 367
DMnn.................................................................................................................. 367
DWnn.................................................................................................................. 367
Additional File Mapping Processes ......................................................................... 367
FMON................................................................................................................. 368
FMPUTL............................................................................................................. 369
Additional RAC Background Processes................................................................... 369
DIAG .................................................................................................................. 369
LCKn .................................................................................................................. 369
LMON ................................................................................................................ 369
LMD ................................................................................................................... 370
LMSn.................................................................................................................. 370
Additional RAC Foreground Processes ................................................................... 370
GSD .................................................................................................................... 370
GCS .................................................................................................................... 370
GES..................................................................................................................... 370
The Oracle Net Listener Process.............................................................................. 370
Chapter 12: The Oracle Database Files........................................................................ 372
Getting Started ........................................................................................................ 373
Terminology........................................................................................................ 373
The Importance of File Name Suffixes ................................................................ 373
General Restrictions On Database Files ............................................................... 374
RAID .................................................................................................................. 374
Understanding RAID Terminology and Concepts ............................................ 375
What is RAID.............................................................................................. 375
Stripe Width, Stripe Size, and Chunks ......................................................... 375
Concurrency ................................................................................................ 376
Caching ....................................................................................................... 378
Understanding RAID Configurations ............................................................... 379
RAID 0........................................................................................................ 379
RAID 1........................................................................................................ 379
RAID 5........................................................................................................ 380
RAID 0+1.................................................................................................... 382
RAID 1+0 (RAID 10) .................................................................................. 382
Which RAID Is Right ...................................................................................... 383
Multiplexing........................................................................................................ 384
What Is Multiplexing....................................................................................... 384
What Files Can Be Multiplexed ....................................................................... 385
Isolating the Multiplexed Copies of Files......................................................... 385

Table of Contents
Moving and Renaming Database Files................................................................. 386
Points to Remember......................................................................................... 386
Examples......................................................................................................... 386
Datafiles.................................................................................................................. 387
Purpose ............................................................................................................... 388
Quantity .............................................................................................................. 388
Location and Naming Convention ....................................................................... 389
Size ..................................................................................................................... 390
Storage Considerations ........................................................................................ 392
Backup / Recovery Considerations ...................................................................... 393
Views .................................................................................................................. 394
Undo Files............................................................................................................... 394
Purpose ............................................................................................................... 394
Quantity .............................................................................................................. 395
Location and Naming Convention ....................................................................... 395
Size ..................................................................................................................... 395
Storage Considerations ........................................................................................ 396
Backup / Recovery Considerations ...................................................................... 396
Views .................................................................................................................. 397
Tempfiles ................................................................................................................ 398
Purpose ............................................................................................................... 398
Quantity .............................................................................................................. 398
Location and Naming Convention ....................................................................... 399
Size ..................................................................................................................... 399
Storage Considerations ........................................................................................ 400
Backup / Recovery Considerations ...................................................................... 401
Views .................................................................................................................. 401
Control Files ........................................................................................................... 401
Purpose ............................................................................................................... 402
Quantity .............................................................................................................. 402
Location and Naming Convention ....................................................................... 402
Size ..................................................................................................................... 403
Storage Considerations ........................................................................................ 404
Creating the First Control Files............................................................................ 404
Adding More Control Files.................................................................................. 405
Moving and Renaming Control Files ................................................................... 408
Deleting Control Files ......................................................................................... 409
Backup / Recovery Considerations ...................................................................... 410
Views .................................................................................................................. 411
On-Line Redo Log Files .......................................................................................... 411
Purpose ............................................................................................................... 412
Quantity .............................................................................................................. 413
Location and Naming Convention ....................................................................... 414
Size ..................................................................................................................... 415
Storage Considerations ........................................................................................ 416

Table of Contents
Backup / Recovery Considerations ...................................................................... 416
Views .................................................................................................................. 417
Archived Redo Log Files......................................................................................... 418
Purpose ............................................................................................................... 419
Quantity .............................................................................................................. 419
Location and Naming Convention ....................................................................... 420
Size ..................................................................................................................... 421
Storage Considerations ........................................................................................ 422
Backup / Recovery Considerations ...................................................................... 423
Retention Considerations..................................................................................... 423
When To Delete Archlogs If Using LogMiner Technologies............................ 424
Views .................................................................................................................. 425
Alert Log................................................................................................................. 426
Export Files............................................................................................................. 428
Export DataPump Files............................................................................................ 428
Flashback Database Log Files ................................................................................. 429
Initialization Parameter File (init.ora)...................................................................... 429
Password File .......................................................................................................... 430
Server Parameter File (SPFILE) .............................................................................. 433
Trace Files .............................................................................................................. 434
Background Process Trace Files .......................................................................... 435
User Process Trace Files...................................................................................... 435
Core Dumps ........................................................................................................ 436
UTL_FILE .............................................................................................................. 436
Specify a File Location using UTL_FILE_DIR ................................................... 437
Specify a File Location using CREATE DIRECTORY........................................ 437
Chapter 13: Oracle Managed Files .............................................................................. 439
What is OMF .......................................................................................................... 440
Configuring Your Database for OMF ...................................................................... 440
Create a SPFILE.................................................................................................. 440
Create OMF Directories ...................................................................................... 440
Understanding Whats New in 10g OMF ......................................................... 441
Set the OMF Initialization Parameters ................................................................. 441
Changing the OMF Locations.............................................................................. 442
OMF File Sizes ....................................................................................................... 443
OMF Naming Conventions...................................................................................... 443
Some Examples....................................................................................................... 444
Example 1: Creating a Database ......................................................................... 444
Example 2: Modifying a Tablespace................................................................... 445
Whether or Not to Use Oracle Managed Files.......................................................... 445
Chapter 14: Automatic Storage Management (ASM)................................................... 448
Overview of ASM ................................................................................................... 449
Is There a Trade-Off................................................................................................ 450
Instance Types ........................................................................................................ 450

Table of Contents
About Disk Groups and Failure Groups................................................................... 451
Do You Need Multiple Disk Groups........................................................................ 452
Mirroring with ASM ............................................................................................... 452
About ASM Instance Failures.................................................................................. 453
Installing ASM........................................................................................................ 453
Creating ASM Instances.......................................................................................... 453
Dont Cook It ...................................................................................................... 453
Privileges for Creating and Maintaining ASM Instances ...................................... 453
How to Create an ASM Instance.......................................................................... 454
Chapter 15: Oracle Net................................................................................................ 455
Overview of Oracle Net........................................................................................... 456
A Typical Configuration.......................................................................................... 456
The Oracle Listener ................................................................................................. 458
What is the Oracle Listener ................................................................................. 458
Protecting the Oracle Listener.............................................................................. 459
Configuring the Oracle Listener........................................................................... 460
Common Listener Error Messages ....................................................................... 460
What Are Dedicated and Shared Servers.............................................................. 461
Dedicated Server Redirect Connections ............................................................... 462
Dedicated Server Bequeath Connections.............................................................. 462
Shared Server Connections .................................................................................. 462
Configuring Dispatchers .................................................................................. 463
Configuring Shared Servers ............................................................................. 464
When to Use, or Not Use, Oracle Shared Servers............................................. 464
External Procedure Calls ..................................................................................... 466
What is ExtProc............................................................................................... 466
How Do I Get ExtProc..................................................................................... 467
Got Multiple Oracle Homes? ........................................................................... 467
Security Considerations ................................................................................... 468
Configuring the Oracle Listener for ExtProc.................................................... 468
Configuring the TNSNAMES.ORA for ExtProc.............................................. 470
Bequeath Connections ......................................................................................... 471
IPC Connections.................................................................................................. 473
Configuration Files.................................................................................................. 474
Tnsnames.ora and Sqlnet.ora Explained............................................................... 474
Which Tnsnames.ora and Sqlnet.ora Will Oracle Use .......................................... 475
Configuring file Tnsnames.ora ............................................................................ 476
Listener Entries in Tnsnames.ora ..................................................................... 479
IFILE Entries in Tnsnames.ora ........................................................................ 480
Got Heterogeneous Connections? .................................................................... 481
Configuring Oracle Net for Failover ................................................................ 481
Configuring Oracle Net for Load Balancing..................................................... 485
Web Application Load Balancing Tips ........................................................ 486
Configuring File Sqlnet.ora ................................................................................. 487
Configuring File Listener.ora............................................................................... 489

Table of Contents
What is Listener.ora, and Where is It ............................................................... 489
How to Configure Listener.ora......................................................................... 490
Interpreting Listener.ora .................................................................................. 490
Naming the Listener ........................................................................................ 491
When Does Listener.ora Need DESCRIPTION_LIST ..................................... 491
Securing the Oracle Listener............................................................................ 492
Whats New in File Listener.ora ...................................................................... 492
Log and Trace Files................................................................................................. 493
Port Numbers .......................................................................................................... 494
Naming Methods..................................................................................................... 495
Local Naming...................................................................................................... 495
Directory Naming................................................................................................ 496
Easy Connect Naming ......................................................................................... 496
External Naming ................................................................................................. 497
The Listener Control Utility .................................................................................... 497
Automating LSNRCTL START at System Startup .............................................. 500
Automating LSNRCTL STOP at System Shutdown ............................................ 500
The Oracle Advanced Security Option (ASO) ......................................................... 501
ASO Network Encryption ....................................................................................... 502
ASO Data Integrity ................................................................................................. 503
ASO Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Support................................................................ 504
Configuring SSL Per-Instance ............................................................................. 508
On the UNIX Platform..................................................................................... 509
On the Windows Platform ............................................................................... 511
Using SSL with JDBC Connections..................................................................... 512
Chapter 16: Windows Issues ....................................................................................... 514
Operating System Compatibility.............................................................................. 515
General 64-bit Compatibility Notes ..................................................................... 516
How To Determine If You Have 32-Bit or 64-Bit Windows ................................ 516
Microsoft Vista Compatibility Notes ................................................................... 517
What Is Not Supported on Vista ...................................................................... 518
Getting Oracle 10g for Vista............................................................................ 518
All About Microsoft Windows Server 2003......................................................... 519
The History of Windows Server 2003.............................................................. 519
The Editions of Windows Server 2003............................................................. 520
Windows Server 2003 Compatibility Notes ..................................................... 521
Maximizing The Process Size .......................................................................... 522
Maximizing The Database Buffer Cache.......................................................... 522
Prepare Your Database ................................................................................ 523
Prepare The Operating System..................................................................... 524
Test and Back-Out As Needed ..................................................................... 525
Operating System Limitations ................................................................................. 525
File System Limitations........................................................................................... 527
CPU ........................................................................................................................ 527
RAM....................................................................................................................... 528

Table of Contents
Installing 4 GB Might Not Give You 4 GB.......................................................... 529
Processes & Threads ............................................................................................... 530
Services................................................................................................................... 531
Introduction to Windows Services ....................................................................... 531
Service Status: Automatic, Manual, Disabled ...................................................... 532
Oracles Services................................................................................................. 533
OracleCCService ............................................................................................. 533
OracleClusterVolumeService........................................................................... 534
OracleCRService ............................................................................................. 534
OracleCSService ............................................................................................. 534
OracleDBConsole<SID> ................................................................................. 535
OracleEVMService.......................................................................................... 535
OracleJobScheduler<SID> .............................................................................. 535
OracleMTSRecoveryService............................................................................ 536
Oracle<HomeName>ClrAgent ........................................................................ 536
Oracle<HomeName>CMAdmin ...................................................................... 536
Oracle<HomeName>CMan ............................................................................. 537
Oracle<HomeName>iSQL*Plus...................................................................... 537
Oracle<HomeName>SNMPPeerEncapsulator ................................................. 538
Oracle<HomeName>SNMPPeerMasterAgent ................................................. 538
Oracle<HomeName>TNS<ListenerName> ..................................................... 539
Oracle<HomeName>ProcessManager ............................................................. 540
OracleService<SID>........................................................................................ 540
Oracle<HomeName>ClrAgent ........................................................................ 541
The Windows Registry............................................................................................ 541
Overview............................................................................................................. 542
General Oracle Server Registry Settings .............................................................. 543
DATA_PUMP_DIR ........................................................................................ 544
MSTOOLS_HELP .......................................................................................... 544
NLS_LANG .................................................................................................... 544
Pitfalls with NLS_LANG ............................................................................ 545
NLS_DATE_FORMAT................................................................................... 546
OLEDB ........................................................................................................... 546
OO4O (oh-oh-four-oh) .................................................................................... 546
ORA_CWD ..................................................................................................... 546
ORA_<SID>_ AUTOSTART.......................................................................... 547
ORA_<SID>_LPENABLE.............................................................................. 547
ORA_<SID>_LPSIZE..................................................................................... 547
ORA_<SID>_PFILE ....................................................................................... 548
ORA_<SID>_PWFILE.................................................................................... 549
ORA_<SID>_SHUTDOWN ........................................................................... 549
ORA_<SID>_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT ........................................................ 549
ORA_<SID>_SHUTDOWNTYPE.................................................................. 549
ORA_TZFILE ................................................................................................. 550
ORACLE_AFFINITY ..................................................................................... 550

Table of Contents
ORACLE_BASE............................................................................................. 550
ORACLE_GROUP_NAME ............................................................................ 551
ORACLE_HOME ........................................................................................... 551
ORACLE_HOME_KEY ................................................................................. 551
ORACLE_HOME_NAME .............................................................................. 552
ORACLE_PRIORITY..................................................................................... 552
ORACLE_SID ................................................................................................ 552
OSAUTH_ENFORCE_STRICT...................................................................... 552
OSAUTH_PREFIX_DOMAIN ....................................................................... 553
OSAUTH_X509_NAME................................................................................. 553
RDBMS_ARCHIVE ....................................................................................... 553
RDBMS_CONTROL ...................................................................................... 553
SQLPATH....................................................................................................... 554
TNS_ADMIN.................................................................................................. 554
WaitToKillAppTimeout................................................................................... 555
Registry Keys for Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS)....................................... 556
ORAMTS_CONN_POOL_TIMEOUT............................................................ 556
ORAMTS_SESS_TXNTIMETOLIVE ............................................................ 556
ORAMTS_NET_CACHE_TIMEOUT ............................................................ 556
ORAMTS_NET_CACHE_MAXFREE ........................................................... 556
ORAMTS_OSCREDS_MATCH_LEVEL....................................................... 557
Registry Keys for RAC........................................................................................ 557
Oracle Client Registry Settings............................................................................ 557
Other Environment Variables .................................................................................. 558
CLASSPATH...................................................................................................... 558
LD_LIBRARY_PATH........................................................................................ 558
LOCAL (OBSOLETE)........................................................................................ 559
PATH.................................................................................................................. 559
ORACLE_HOME (NOT RECOMMENDED)..................................................... 560
TNS_ADMIN...................................................................................................... 560
ORADIM ................................................................................................................ 561
The Undocumented EX Parameter ................................................................... 562
Starting and Stopping Oracle Server on Windows ................................................... 563
Windows Services ............................................................................................... 564
Net Start and Net Stop......................................................................................... 565
Using SQL*Plus to Startup the Database ............................................................. 565
Using SQL*Plus to Shutdown the Database......................................................... 566
Setting Processor Affinity ....................................................................................... 566
Setting Processor Priority ........................................................................................ 568
Chapter 17: Using Oracle 10g on Sun Solaris .............................................................. 571
Installing One-Off Patches ...................................................................................... 571
The Relationship Between Oracle and Sun .............................................................. 573
Operating System Requirements.............................................................................. 573
The oracle User and dba Group Accounts......................................................... 574
Shells ...................................................................................................................... 576

Table of Contents
Permissions ............................................................................................................. 577
Permissions as Three Digit Numbers ................................................................... 577
Setting and Permissions and Owners ................................................................... 578
Four Digit Permissions ........................................................................................ 578
User Profiles ........................................................................................................... 579
Commonly Used Environment Variables............................................................. 580
Sample Korn Shell Profile for Oracle Server ....................................................... 581
Sample C Shell Profile for Oracle Client ............................................................. 582
Got Graphics ........................................................................................................... 583
Semaphores............................................................................................................. 584
Kernel Parameters for Solaris 9 and Earlier ............................................................. 584
Shared Memory Parameters................................................................................. 585
shmsys:shminfo_shmmax ................................................................................ 585
shmsys:shminfo_shmmin................................................................................. 585
shmsys:shminfo_shmmni................................................................................. 585
shmsys:shminfo_shmseg ................................................................................. 585
Semaphore Parameters ........................................................................................ 586
semsys:seminfo_semmap................................................................................. 586
semsys:seminfo_semmni ................................................................................. 586
semsys:seminfo_semmns................................................................................. 586
semsys:seminfo_semmsl.................................................................................. 586
semsys:seminfo_semmnu ................................................................................ 587
semsys:seminfo_semume................................................................................. 587
Miscellaneous Kernel Parameters ........................................................................ 587
noexec_user_stack........................................................................................... 588
Sample Kernel Parameter Entries ........................................................................ 588
Resource Controls for Solaris 10 ............................................................................. 588
Registering Port Numbers ....................................................................................... 590
Launching the Oracle Universal Installer on Solaris ................................................ 591
Installing One-Off Patches ...................................................................................... 592
Helpful UNIX Commands....................................................................................... 593
Projects Commands ............................................................................................. 595
Tips for Using VI .................................................................................................... 597
Cursor Movement Operations.............................................................................. 598
Search and Replace Operations............................................................................ 598
Cut and Paste Commands .................................................................................... 599
Miscellaneous Operations.................................................................................... 599
Exiting VI ........................................................................................................... 600
Building a New Solaris 10 (SPARC) Server ............................................................ 601
Selecting the Hardware........................................................................................ 601
About the T2000 Server................................................................................... 601
Planning the File System ..................................................................................... 602
System Partitions ............................................................................................. 603
Application Partitions ...................................................................................... 603
Plan Your Directory Structure ......................................................................... 604

Table of Contents
To RAID or Not to RAID ................................................................................ 605
Gathering Installer-Required Facts Before You Begin ......................................... 606
Pick the Installation Media .................................................................................. 606
Installing the Operating System........................................................................... 606
Post-Operating System Installation Punch List .................................................... 607
Verify Network Settings .................................................................................. 607
Set Miscellaneous Kernel Parameters .............................................................. 608
Enable Auto-Mounting of the CD/DVD Drive ................................................. 608
The Alternative............................................................................................ 608
Pre-Oracle Installation Punch List ....................................................................... 609
Verify Sun Packages Required by Oracle......................................................... 609
Create File Systems for Oracle......................................................................... 609
Create the OSDBA Group ............................................................................... 609
Create the Oracle Installation Group (Optional) ............................................... 610
Create the Oracle Operator Group (Optional)................................................... 611
Create the Oracle User..................................................................................... 611
Create the Oracle Project ................................................................................. 613
Enable and Activate the Project ....................................................................... 613
Troubleshooting the Project ............................................................................. 615
Login as Oracle and Optionally Set the Password ............................................ 615
Setup the Oracle Users Environment .............................................................. 615
Installing the Oracle Database 10g Software........................................................ 616
Steps for Installing Oracle Database 10g.......................................................... 616
Installing Oracle 10g Companion Software.......................................................... 619
Steps for Installing Oracle Companion Software.............................................. 619
Post Installation Considerations........................................................................... 620
Installing Oracle 10g R2 Patchset Software ......................................................... 621
Steps for Installing Oracle Patchsets ................................................................ 621
Post-Patchset Security Issues ........................................................................... 622
Create a Database ................................................................................................ 623
Chapter 18: Initialization Parameters........................................................................... 624
What is an Initialization Parameter .......................................................................... 625
Tuning Parameters............................................................................................... 626
Strings, Numbers, Booleans, Oh My! ...................................................................... 626
Knowing When a Parameter Can Be Modified ........................................................ 627
Initialization Parameter Files and Server Parameter Files ........................................ 629
Maintaining Parameters in a PFILE ..................................................................... 629
Maintaining Parameters in a SPFILE ................................................................... 629
The Parameter Clause ...................................................................................... 630
The COMMENT Clause .................................................................................. 630
The SCOPE Clause.......................................................................................... 630
The SID Clause ............................................................................................... 630
Overriding SPFILE Values at Startup .............................................................. 631
Working with Hidden Parameters .................................................................... 631
Removing Parameters from the SPFILE .......................................................... 631

Table of Contents
More Information ............................................................................................ 632
Displaying Initialization Parameters and Values ...................................................... 632
Using the SQL*Plus SHOW Command to Inspect Parameters............................. 632
View V$SYSTEM_PARAMETER ..................................................................... 633
View V$PARAMETER ...................................................................................... 633
V$PARAMETER_VALID_VALUES................................................................. 633
View V$SPPARAMETER .................................................................................. 634
Viewing Initialization Parameters in OEM Database Control............................... 634
Special Views for NLS Parameters...................................................................... 635
Viewing Hidden Initialization Parameters............................................................ 635
Are You Using Obsolete Parameters?.................................................................. 636
The Initialization Parameters ................................................................................... 636
Database Naming Parameters .............................................................................. 637
DB_DOMAIN................................................................................................. 637
DB_NAME ..................................................................................................... 637
DB_UNIQUE_NAME..................................................................................... 638
INSTANCE_NAME........................................................................................ 638
RDBMS_SERVER_DN .................................................................................. 638
SERVICE_NAMES......................................................................................... 638
SGA Sizing Parameters ....................................................................................... 639
DB_BLOCK_BUFFERS ................................................................................. 640
DB_CACHE_ADVICE ................................................................................... 641
DB_CACHE_SIZE.......................................................................................... 642
DB_NK_CACHE_SIZE .................................................................................. 642
JAVA_POOL_SIZE ........................................................................................ 643
LARGE_POOL_SIZE ..................................................................................... 643
LOCK_SGA.................................................................................................... 644
SGA_MAX_SIZE ........................................................................................... 644
SGA_TARGET ............................................................................................... 645
SHARED_POOL_SIZE................................................................................... 646
SHARED_POOL_RESERVED_SIZE............................................................. 647
STREAMS_POOL_SIZE ................................................................................ 648
USE_INDIRECT_DATA_BUFFERS.............................................................. 649
PGA Sizing Parameters ....................................................................................... 649
PGA_AGGREGATE_TARGET...................................................................... 649
WORKAREA_SIZE_POLICY........................................................................ 651
SORT_AREA_SIZE........................................................................................ 651
SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE................................................................... 652
Security Parameters............................................................................................. 653
_TRACE_FILES_PUBLIC.............................................................................. 653
AUDIT_FILE_DEST ...................................................................................... 653
AUDIT_SYS_OPERATIONS ......................................................................... 654
AUDIT_SYSLOG_LEVEL ............................................................................. 654
AUDIT_TRAIL............................................................................................... 654
O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY ........................................................... 655

Table of Contents
OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX................................................................................ 656
OS_ROLES ..................................................................................................... 656
REMOTE_LOGIN_PASSWORDFILE ........................................................... 657
Oracle 10.1 Databases.................................................................................. 657
Oracle 10.2 Databases.................................................................................. 658
REMOTE_OS_AUTHENT ............................................................................. 659
REMOTE_OS_ROLES ................................................................................... 659
General / Miscellaneous Parameters .................................................................... 659
_RECYCLEBIN.............................................................................................. 659
CLUSTER_DATABASE ................................................................................ 660
COMPATIBLE ............................................................................................... 660
CURSOR_SHARING...................................................................................... 661
DB_BLOCK_CHECKING.............................................................................. 662
Oracle 10.1 Databases.................................................................................. 662
Oracle 10.2 Databases.................................................................................. 662
DB_BLOCK_CHECKSUM ............................................................................ 662
Oracle 10.1 Databases.................................................................................. 662
Oracle 10.2 Databases.................................................................................. 663
DB_BLOCK_SIZE.......................................................................................... 663
DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT .................................................. 664
DB_FILES ...................................................................................................... 665
DB_WRITER_PROCESSES........................................................................... 665
DBWR_IO_SLAVES ...................................................................................... 666
GLOBAL_NAMES ......................................................................................... 666
INSTANCE_TYPE ......................................................................................... 667
JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES ........................................................................... 667
LOCAL_LISTENER ....................................................................................... 668
OPEN_CURSORS .......................................................................................... 668
PROCESSES................................................................................................... 669
RECYCLEBIN................................................................................................ 670
REMOTE_LISTENER .................................................................................... 670
RESOURCE_LIMIT ....................................................................................... 671
RESOURCE_MANAGER_PLAN................................................................... 671
SESSION_CACHED_CURSORS ................................................................... 671
SESSION_MAX_OPEN_FILES ..................................................................... 672
SESSIONS ...................................................................................................... 672
SPFILE............................................................................................................ 673
TRACE_ENABLED ....................................................................................... 673
TRANSACTIONS........................................................................................... 673
Location Parameters ............................................................................................ 674
AUDIT_FILE_DEST ...................................................................................... 674
BACKGROUND_DUMP_DEST .................................................................... 674
CONTROL_FILES.......................................................................................... 675
CORE_DUMP_DEST ..................................................................................... 676
USER_DUMP_DEST...................................................................................... 676

Table of Contents
UTL_FILE_DIR.............................................................................................. 677
Redo Log Parameters .......................................................................................... 677
LOG_BUFFER................................................................................................ 677
10.2 Behavior .............................................................................................. 677
10.1 Behavior .............................................................................................. 678
LOG_CHECKPOINT_INTERVAL................................................................. 679
LOG_CHECKPOINT_TIMEOUT................................................................... 679
LOG_CHECKPOINTS_TO_ALERT .............................................................. 680
Optimizer and Statistics Parameters..................................................................... 680
OPTIMIZER_DYNAMIC_SAMPLING.......................................................... 680
OPTIMIZER_MODE ...................................................................................... 681
STATISTICS_LEVEL .................................................................................... 682
TIMED_OS_STATISTICS.............................................................................. 683
TIMED_STATISTICS .................................................................................... 683
Undo Parameters ................................................................................................. 684
UNDO_MANAGEMENT ............................................................................... 684
UNDO_RETENTION ..................................................................................... 684
UNDO_TABLESPACE................................................................................... 685
Materialized View Parameters ............................................................................. 686
QUERY_REWRITE_ENABLED.................................................................... 686
QUERY_REWRITE_INTEGRITY ................................................................. 686
Shared Server Parameters .................................................................................... 687
CIRCUITS ...................................................................................................... 687
DISPATCHERS .............................................................................................. 687
MAX_DISPATCHERS ................................................................................... 688
MAX_SHARED_SERVERS........................................................................... 689
SHARED_SERVER_SESSIONS .................................................................... 690
SHARED_SERVERS...................................................................................... 690
Backup and Recovery Parameters........................................................................ 691
DB_FLASHBACK_RETENTION_TARGET ................................................. 691
DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST ...................................................................... 692
DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST_SIZE ............................................................ 693
FAST_START_MTTR_TARGET................................................................... 693
FAST_START_PARALLEL_ROLLBACK .................................................... 695
LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST ................................................................................. 695
LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_N............................................................................. 696
Important note regarding LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_10 ................................ 697
LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_STATE_N............................................................... 698
Alternate and Spill Over Destinations for Archlogs...................................... 698
LOG_ARCHIVE_DUPLEX_DEST ................................................................ 703
LOG_ARCHIVE_FORMAT ........................................................................... 703
LOG_ARCHIVE_MAX_PROCESSES ........................................................... 705
LOG_ARCHIVE_MIN_SUCCEED_DEST..................................................... 705
LOG_ARCHIVE_START ............................................................................... 705
LOG_ARCHIVE_TRACE .............................................................................. 706

Table of Contents
REMOTE_ARCHIVE_ENABLE .................................................................... 706
OMF Parameters ................................................................................................. 706
DB_CREATE_FILE_DEST ............................................................................ 706
DB_CREATE_ONLINE_LOG_DEST_N ....................................................... 707
ASM Parameters ................................................................................................. 707
ASM_DISKGROUPS...................................................................................... 708
ASM_DISKSTRING....................................................................................... 708
ASM_POWER_LIMIT.................................................................................... 708
Chapter 19: The Server Parameter File (SPFILE) ........................................................ 709
What is a SPFILE.................................................................................................... 710
RAC Attack ............................................................................................................ 711
When to Use a SPFILE............................................................................................ 711
Why Not Use a SPFILE .......................................................................................... 712
Where to Put Your SPFILE ..................................................................................... 713
Naming Conventions for SPFILEs........................................................................... 714
Creating a SPFILE .................................................................................................. 714
Updating a SPFILE ................................................................................................. 715
Deleting a SPFILE .................................................................................................. 716
Backing up the SPFILE ........................................................................................... 716
The Asterisk............................................................................................................ 716
SPFILEs and Automatic Shared Memory Management ........................................... 717
Chapter 20: Oracles Pre-Installed Schemas ................................................................ 719
ANONYMOUS....................................................................................................... 720
CTXSYS................................................................................................................. 720
DIP ......................................................................................................................... 721
DBSNMP................................................................................................................ 721
DIP ......................................................................................................................... 722
DMSYS .................................................................................................................. 722
LBACSYS .............................................................................................................. 722
MDDATA............................................................................................................... 723
MDSYS .................................................................................................................. 723
OLAPSYS............................................................................................................... 723
ORDPLUGINS ....................................................................................................... 723
ORDSYS ................................................................................................................ 724
OUTLN................................................................................................................... 724
SCOTT ................................................................................................................... 724
SI_INFORMTN_SCHEMA .................................................................................... 725
SYS......................................................................................................................... 725
SYSMAN................................................................................................................ 725
SYSTEM ................................................................................................................ 726
TSMSYS................................................................................................................. 726
WMSYS.................................................................................................................. 726
XDB ....................................................................................................................... 727

Table of Contents
Chapter 21: Creating Oracle10g Databases by Hand.................................................... 728
Why I Dont Like Using Wizards to Create Databases............................................. 729
When to Use a Wizard............................................................................................. 730
The Tools of My Trade............................................................................................ 730
The Process............................................................................................................. 731
The Process from 30,000 Feet.............................................................................. 731
The Process from 10,000 Feet.............................................................................. 731
Plan the Installation ......................................................................................... 732
Configure the Server........................................................................................ 732
Create the Database ......................................................................................... 733
Scripting the Process ............................................................................................... 734
Plan and Create the Necessary Directories............................................................... 735
Directories for Oracle COTS Software ................................................................ 736
Directories for Oracle Database Admin Files ....................................................... 737
Directories for Oracle Database Files................................................................... 739
Directories for Oracle Archived Redo Log Files .................................................. 740
Using Multiple Archiver Destinations.............................................................. 742
The RAID Effect ............................................................................................. 743
Compressing Archlogs to Save Space .............................................................. 743
Managing and Deleting Archlogs..................................................................... 743
Directories for Oracle Recovery Files .................................................................. 744
Create a Windows Service Using ORADIM ............................................................ 746
Calling ORADIM While Creating a Database...................................................... 748
Create a Password File Using ORAPWD ................................................................ 749
Calling ORAPWD While Creating a Database..................................................... 751
Deploy your Initialization Parameter File ................................................................ 752
Where to Put Your PFILE or SPFILE.................................................................. 752
Deploying PFILE and SPFILE While Creating a Database .................................. 753
The CREATE DATABASE Command ................................................................... 755
A Very Simple Example to Get You Moving....................................................... 755
Components of the CREATE DATABASE Command ........................................ 757
Database Name................................................................................................ 757
The USER SYS Clause.................................................................................... 757
The USER SYSTEM Clause............................................................................ 758
The FORCE LOGGING Clause....................................................................... 758
The DATAFILE Clause................................................................................... 758
The DEFAULT TABLESPACE Clause........................................................... 759
The DEFAULT TEMPORARY TABLESPACE Clause .................................. 760
The SYSAUX DATAFILE Clause .................................................................. 761
The LOGFILE Clause...................................................................................... 762
The FORCE LOGGING Clause....................................................................... 763
The SET DEFAULT BIGFILE/SMALLFILE TABLESPACE Clause ............. 763
The UNDO TABLESPACE Clause ................................................................. 763
The CHARACTER SET Clause ...................................................................... 765
The NATIONAL CHARACTER SET Clause.................................................. 767

Table of Contents
The ARCHIVELOG Clause............................................................................. 768
The MAXLOGFILES Clause .......................................................................... 768
The MAXLOGMEMBERS Clause.................................................................. 769
Control Files.................................................................................................... 769
Examples............................................................................................................. 769
Example 1: Simple Form ................................................................................ 769
Example 2: With Some Details ....................................................................... 770
Example 3: Enough Detail to Hurt Your Head ................................................ 770
Creating Directories on the Fly................................................................................ 773
Installing the Catalogs ............................................................................................. 773
What Catalogs Are There / Which Ones Do I Need ............................................. 775
Before You Begin, Define A Few Variables ........................................................ 776
Create the Data Dictionary .................................................................................. 777
Install SQL*Plus Extensions................................................................................ 778
Install the Oracle Java Virtual Machine (JVM) .................................................... 778
Install Oracle Text ............................................................................................... 779
Install Oracle XML DB ....................................................................................... 780
The Installation Process ................................................................................... 780
Pre-Requires to Installing XML DB In Your Database..................................... 781
Tips for Windows 2003 SP1 Users .................................................................. 781
Installing XML DB In Your Database.............................................................. 782
Final Points on Installing XML DB ................................................................. 783
Oracle Spatial...................................................................................................... 783
Configuring OEM Database Control........................................................................ 784
First, Gather the Facts.......................................................................................... 784
Second, Understand Your Options....................................................................... 785
Third, Manually Configure OEM Database Control............................................. 786
Manually Configuring Database Control in Oracle 10.1................................... 786
Manually Configuring Database Control in Oracle 10.2................................... 788
Fourth, Disable Unlicensed Functionality ............................................................ 790
Some Post-Configuration Thoughts ..................................................................... 790
Removing Database Control ................................................................................ 791
Removing Database Control in Oracle 10g Release 1 ...................................... 791
Removing Database Control in Oracle 10g Release 2 ...................................... 792
Database Control Port Numbers........................................................................... 793
Administrators and Super Administrators ............................................................ 793
Auto-Starting the Database Control Process ........................................................ 795
Troubleshooting Database Control Setup............................................................. 795
The Floppy Drive Bug for Windows Users ...................................................... 796
Connecting Database Control to Multiple Databases at Once........................... 798
Chapter 22: Creating Oracle 10g Databases by Wizard................................................ 799
What is the DBCA .................................................................................................. 800
What Do I Do with the DBCA................................................................................. 800
Capture scripts for creating databases .................................................................. 801
Configure Database Options ................................................................................ 801

Table of Contents
Launching the DBCA.............................................................................................. 801
Using the DBCA to Create a New Database from Scratch ....................................... 802
Using the DBCA to Create a Database Template ..................................................... 815
Using the DBCA to Create a New Database from a Template.................................. 815
Pitfalls of the DBCA ............................................................................................... 816
Chapter 23: Polishing Your Windows Database Server ............................................... 818
Disable CPU-Intensive Screen Savers ..................................................................... 819
Unset the Windows Wallpaper ................................................................................ 819
Disable Windows Active Desktop ........................................................................... 820
Adjust Your Anti-Virus Software ............................................................................ 820
Adjust Your Windows Registry Keys ...................................................................... 821
Chapter 24: Database Startup ...................................................................................... 822
What Does Starting the Database Do....................................................................... 823
The Startup Process, a Full Example.................................................................... 823
Tools of the Trade ................................................................................................... 824
Permissions ............................................................................................................. 825
Other Pre-Requisites ............................................................................................... 825
Automating Startup ................................................................................................. 825
Automating Startup on Windows......................................................................... 826
Automating Startup on Solaris............................................................................. 826
Startup Options ....................................................................................................... 828
STARTUP NOMOUNT ...................................................................................... 829
STARTUP MOUNT............................................................................................ 830
STARTUP........................................................................................................... 831
STARTUP EXCLUSIVE .................................................................................... 832
STARTUP FORCE ............................................................................................. 833
STARTUP RESTRICT........................................................................................ 833
STARTUP MIGRATE ........................................................................................ 834
STARTUP UPGRADE........................................................................................ 835
STARTUP PARALLEL (OBSOLETE)............................................................... 835
ALTER DATABASE MOUNT........................................................................... 836
ALTER DATABASE OPEN............................................................................... 836
About Restricted Session..................................................................................... 837
Using ORADIM to Startup Oracle........................................................................... 838
Using RMAN to Startup Oracle............................................................................... 838
Startup Triggers....................................................................................................... 839
RAC Startup Notes.................................................................................................. 839
Startup Errors.......................................................................................................... 839
ORA-01031: insufficient privileges ..................................................................... 839
ORA-01041: internal error. hostdef extension doesn't exist.................................. 840
ORA-01081: cannot start already-running ORACLE - shut it down first.............. 840
ORA-01507: database not mounted ..................................................................... 840
ORA-01033: ORACLE initialization or shutdown in progress ............................. 840
ORA-01034: ORACLE not available................................................................... 841

Table of Contents
ORA-01219: database not open: queries allowed on fixed tables/views only ....... 841
ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect
descriptor. ........................................................................................................... 841
ORA-12528: TNS:listener: all appropriate instances are blocking new connections
............................................................................................................................ 842
ORA-12560: TNS:protocol adapter error............................................................. 842
Chapter 25: Database Shutdown.................................................................................. 843
What Does Shutting Down the Database Do............................................................ 844
Tools of the Trade ................................................................................................... 844
Permissions ............................................................................................................. 844
Other Pre-Requisites ............................................................................................... 845
Automating Shutdown............................................................................................. 846
Shutdown Options................................................................................................... 846
SHUTDOWN...................................................................................................... 846
SHUTDOWN NORMAL .................................................................................... 847
SHUTDOWN TRANSACTIONAL [LOCAL] .................................................... 847
SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE............................................................................... 847
SHUTDOWN ABORT........................................................................................ 848
ALTER DATABASE CLOSE............................................................................. 848
Using ORADIM to Shutdown Oracle ...................................................................... 849
Using RMAN to Shutdown Oracle .......................................................................... 849
Shutdown Triggers .................................................................................................. 850
RAC Shutdown Notes ............................................................................................. 850
Chapter 26: The Recycle Bin....................................................................................... 851
What is the Recycle Bin .......................................................................................... 852
Enable / Disable the Recycle Bin............................................................................. 852
Oracle 10g Release 1 ........................................................................................... 853
Oracle 10g Release 2 ........................................................................................... 853
Restoring Tables From the Recycle Bin................................................................... 853
Clearing the Recycle Bin......................................................................................... 854
Restrictions on the Recycle Bin ............................................................................... 855
Chapter 27: Optimizer Statistics .................................................................................. 856
What Are Statistics.................................................................................................. 857
What Are Statistics History ................................................................................. 857
Making it Work....................................................................................................... 858
Installation and Configuration Issues ................................................................... 859
Privileges ............................................................................................................ 859
Automatic Statistics Collection for Application Tables............................................ 859
Manual Collection of Statistics on Application Tables............................................. 860
GATHER_DATABASE_STATS ........................................................................ 861
GATHER_SCHEMA_STATS............................................................................. 861
GATHER_TABLE_STATS ................................................................................ 862
GATHER_INDEX_STATS............................................................................. 863

Table of Contents
GATHER_DICTIONARY_STATS..................................................................... 863
GATHER_SYSTEM_STATS ............................................................................. 864
Default Parameter Values ........................................................................................ 864
OPTIONS............................................................................................................ 865
ESTIMATE_PERCENT...................................................................................... 865
METHOD_OPT .................................................................................................. 866
DEGREE............................................................................................................. 867
GRANULARITY ................................................................................................ 867
CASCADE.......................................................................................................... 868
NO_INVALIDATE............................................................................................. 868
Gathering Statistics on Dictionary Tables ................................................................ 869
Fixed Object........................................................................................................ 869
Dynamic (Real) Tables ........................................................................................ 870
Determining When Statistics are Missing ................................................................ 870
Locking Statistics in Place....................................................................................... 872
Using FORCE to Override the Lock .................................................................... 872
Dynamic Sampling of Statistics............................................................................... 873
About Histograms ................................................................................................... 874
Default Statistics Values.......................................................................................... 875
FAQs ...................................................................................................................... 876
Does Automatic Optimizer Statistics Collection use the AWR?........................... 876
Which initialization parameters should I focus on? .............................................. 876
When does job run to collect statistics?................................................................ 876
When does the maintenance window open? ......................................................... 876
What if the maintenance window closes before the job ends? .............................. 876
How do I know if my database has a job to gather statistics? ............................... 876
How do I disable automatic statistics collection? ................................................. 876
How do I resume automatic statistics collection after disabling it?....................... 876
How does automatic statistics collection relate to Oracle 8i and 9i? ..................... 877
What Happened to the Rule Based Optimizer ...................................................... 877
Chapter 28: Automatic Workload Repository (AWR).................................................. 878
Overview ................................................................................................................ 879
AWR Versus STATSPACK .................................................................................... 879
How AWR Works ................................................................................................... 879
Storage Requirements for the AWR......................................................................... 880
Manually Managing AWR Statistics........................................................................ 880
Privileges ............................................................................................................ 880
Altering AWRs Default Collection and Retention Periods.................................. 881
Creating AWR Baselines ..................................................................................... 882
Dropping AWR Baselines ................................................................................... 883
Creating AWR Snapshots .................................................................................... 884
Specifying the Flush Level .............................................................................. 885
Dropping AWR Snapshots................................................................................... 885
Comparing Baselines........................................................................................... 886
Creating a (STATSPACK-Like) Statistics Report................................................ 887

Table of Contents
Views for Monitoring AWR Snapshots ................................................................... 887
DBA_HIST_WR_CONTROL ............................................................................. 887
DBA_HIST_BASELINE..................................................................................... 887
DBA_HIST_SNAPSHOT ................................................................................... 888
Chapter 29: Oracle Flashback...................................................................................... 889
What is Oracle Flashback ........................................................................................ 890
Permissions Required for Using Oracle Flashback................................................... 891
Oracle Flashback Database...................................................................................... 892
Flashback Database System Requirements........................................................... 892
Enabling Flashback Database .............................................................................. 893
Disabling Flashback Database ............................................................................. 894
Using Flashback Database ................................................................................... 894
Monitoring Flashback Database Storage Issues.................................................... 896
RAC Considerations for Oracle Flashback Database............................................ 896
Oracle Flashback Drop............................................................................................ 897
Enabling and Disabling Flashback Drop .............................................................. 897
Using Flashback Drop ......................................................................................... 898
A Few Tips for Flashback Drop........................................................................... 900
Implications of Dropping a Tablespace................................................................ 900
Restrictions and Limitations for Flashback Drop ................................................. 901
Oracle Flashback Table ........................................................................................... 902
Flashing Back Related Data................................................................................. 903
Restrictions and Limitations ................................................................................ 904
Oracle Flashback Query .......................................................................................... 904
Oracle Flashback Transaction Query ....................................................................... 905
Oracle Flashback Versions Query............................................................................ 906
Chapter 30: Database Security..................................................................................... 908
Introduction to Database Security............................................................................ 909
Schemas .................................................................................................................. 909
What is a Schema ................................................................................................ 909
Schemas are Swim Lanes .................................................................................... 910
Are Application Schemas the Same as User Schemas .......................................... 910
Creating and Maintaining Schemas...................................................................... 911
Case Matters........................................................................................................ 914
Dropping Schemas .............................................................................................. 915
Users....................................................................................................................... 915
Types of User Accounts ...................................................................................... 915
Ghost Accounts ............................................................................................... 916
Database Users with Database Managed Password .......................................... 916
Database Users with Host Managed Password ................................................. 917
Enterprise Database Users ............................................................................... 919
Schemaless Enterprise Database Users ............................................................ 919
Sample CREATE USER Commands ................................................................... 920
Plain Vanilla.................................................................................................... 920

Table of Contents
Passwords For Users Identified Externally....................................................... 921
Create a User with an Old Password ................................................................ 921
Create a User Without the CREATE USER Command .................................... 923
Password Verification Functions ............................................................................. 923
Privileges ................................................................................................................ 928
What are Object Privileges .................................................................................. 928
The WITH GRANT OPTION Clause .............................................................. 929
What are System Privileges ................................................................................. 929
The WITH ADMIN OPTION Clause .............................................................. 930
What are the SYSDBA and SYSOPER Privileges ............................................... 930
Privileges Needed to Query the Data Dictionary.................................................. 931
Views for Managing Privileges............................................................................ 932
DBA_COL_PRIVS ......................................................................................... 932
DBA_COL_TAB_PRIVS_RECD.................................................................... 932
DBA_SYS_PRIVS .......................................................................................... 932
DBA_TAB_PRIVS ......................................................................................... 932
ROLE_SYS_PRIVS ........................................................................................ 932
SESSION_PRIVS............................................................................................ 933
Roles....................................................................................................................... 933
What Are Roles ................................................................................................... 933
Quick Tips for Using Roles ................................................................................. 934
Creating, Modifying, and Dropping Roles ........................................................... 934
Granting Roles to Users....................................................................................... 935
The WITH ADMIN OPTION Clause ............................................................... 936
Commonly Granted (Pre-Defined) Roles ............................................................. 936
CONNECT...................................................................................................... 937
DBA................................................................................................................ 937
RESOURCE.................................................................................................... 937
SELECT_CATALOG_ROLE.......................................................................... 938
DELETE_CATALOG_ROLE ......................................................................... 938
EXECUTE_CATALOG_ROLE ...................................................................... 938
EXP_FULL_DATABASE............................................................................... 938
IMP_FULL_DATABASE ............................................................................... 939
RECOVERY_CATALOG_OWNER............................................................... 939
HS_ADMIN_ROLE ........................................................................................ 939
AQ_USER_ROLE........................................................................................... 939
AQ_ADMINISTRATOR_ROLE..................................................................... 940
Roles Past, Present, and Future............................................................................ 940
Are Roles the Same as User Groups .................................................................... 940
Using Roles as Labels or Flags ............................................................................ 941
Views for Managing Roles .................................................................................. 941
DBA_ROLES.................................................................................................. 941
DBA_ROLE_PRIVS ....................................................................................... 941
ROLE_ROLE_PRIVS ..................................................................................... 942
ROLE_SYS_PRIVS ........................................................................................ 943

Table of Contents
ROLE_TAB_PRIVS ....................................................................................... 943
SESSION_ROLES .......................................................................................... 944
Restrictions on Grants ......................................................................................... 944
Chapter 31: Introduction to Oracle Auditing................................................................ 946
Introducing Oracle Audit......................................................................................... 947
Changes In 10g.................................................................................................... 947
What is Auditing ..................................................................................................... 947
What Does Oracle Audit By Default........................................................................ 948
What Can Be Audited.............................................................................................. 948
Audit By Access or By Session ........................................................................... 949
Audit Logins and Logoffs.................................................................................... 950
Audit the Auditing System .................................................................................. 950
Audit Security Related Commands ...................................................................... 951
Auditing DDL and DML Commands................................................................... 951
What Data Does Auditing Capture .......................................................................... 952
What Data Does Auditing Not Capture.................................................................... 953
Permissions Needed to Manage Auditing ................................................................ 954
Install Auditing ....................................................................................................... 954
Turn Auditing On and Off ....................................................................................... 955
Step 1: Configure the Database............................................................................ 955
Step 2: Bounce the Database................................................................................ 956
Step 3: Issue AUDIT Commands......................................................................... 956
Example: Auditing Connections .......................................................................... 957
To Audit All Users or Specific Users....................................................................... 957
Auditing SYS and Other SYSDBA Users................................................................ 958
Check Your Audit Settings...................................................................................... 959
Where is Audit Data Stored..................................................................................... 962
Auditing Proxy Users .............................................................................................. 963
Viewing Audit Data ................................................................................................ 964
DBA_COMMON_AUDIT_TRAIL..................................................................... 965
DBA_AUDIT_STATEMENT ............................................................................. 965
DBA_AUDIT_OBJECT...................................................................................... 965
DBA_AUDIT_SESSION .................................................................................... 966
DBA_OBJ_AUDIT_OPTS.................................................................................. 967
DBA_PRIV_AUDIT_OPTS................................................................................ 967
DBA_STMT_AUDIT_OPTS .............................................................................. 968
Fine Grained Auditing (FGA).................................................................................. 968
Chapter 32: The Oracle Scheduler ............................................................................... 970
Introduction............................................................................................................. 971
Breaking it Down .................................................................................................... 971
Jobs ..................................................................................................................... 973
Listing Scheduler Jobs ..................................................................................... 973
Running Scheduler Jobs................................................................................... 974
Stopping Scheduler Jobs .................................................................................. 975

Table of Contents
Disabling and Enabling Scheduler Jobs ........................................................... 976
Dropping Scheduler Jobs ................................................................................. 976
About External Jobs......................................................................................... 977
Job Classes .......................................................................................................... 979
Programs ............................................................................................................. 980
Creating Programs ........................................................................................... 981
Dropping Programs ......................................................................................... 982
Permissions ..................................................................................................... 982
Schedules ............................................................................................................ 982
Creating Schedules .......................................................................................... 983
Dropping Schedules......................................................................................... 983
Listing Schedules ............................................................................................ 984
Permissions ..................................................................................................... 984
Windows ............................................................................................................. 984
Window Groups .................................................................................................. 985
Putting It All Together......................................................................................... 986
Why it is better Than Oracles Old Job System........................................................ 987
Configuring the Scheduler....................................................................................... 988
Initialization Parameters ...................................................................................... 988
Permissions ......................................................................................................... 988
Job Log ................................................................................................................... 989
Privileges ................................................................................................................ 991
RAC Considerations................................................................................................ 992
Scheduler Example A Simple Standalone Job....................................................... 993
Chapter 33: SQL*Plus................................................................................................. 996
What Is SQL*Plus................................................................................................... 997
How Do I Get SQL*Plus ......................................................................................... 998
Installing SQL*Plus ................................................................................................ 998
Rule #1 How to End a Command in SQL*Plus..................................................... 999
Rule #2 Formatting is For You, it Does Not Help SQL*Plus ................................ 999
Configuring SQL*Plus .......................................................................................... 1000
Create a Customized Windows Shortcut ............................................................ 1000
Use File GLOGIN.SQL to Set Global Variables in the SQL*Plus Environment. 1002
Use File LOGIN.SQL to Set Local Variables in the SQL*Plus Environment ..... 1002
Tips for Profile Files.......................................................................................... 1002
Use the SET Command to Set the SQL*Plus Environment ................................ 1003
How to Use the SET Command ..................................................................... 1003
Variables You Can Set With the SET Command ........................................... 1004
Storing Your SET Commands, and all Other Variables.................................. 1008
Using SHOW to Display a Variables Current Status ...................................... 1008
An Example of SET and SHOW.................................................................... 1008
Format Columns with the COLUMN Command................................................ 1009
Define a Default Editor...................................................................................... 1011
Starting SQL*Plus................................................................................................. 1012
Hiding Your Identity ......................................................................................... 1013

Table of Contents
Connecting to a Database ...................................................................................... 1014
Set ORACLE_SID ............................................................................................ 1014
Connect Using the SQL*Plus Command Line Version ...................................... 1018
Connect Via Proxy ............................................................................................ 1021
Security Issues................................................................................................... 1021
Re-Connect Any Time Using CONNECT ......................................................... 1022
Connect Later When Using /NOLOG ................................................................ 1023
Connection Status Messages.............................................................................. 1024
Connecting to a Database With SSL ...................................................................... 1025
Substitution Variables ........................................................................................... 1028
&var .................................................................................................................. 1028
&&var ............................................................................................................... 1028
&var1.&var2 ..................................................................................................... 1029
&var1.Something .............................................................................................. 1029
Issuing Commands and Running Scripts................................................................ 1030
Manually Issuing Commands ............................................................................ 1030
Running Scripted Commands ............................................................................ 1031
Issue Operating System Commands from SQL*Plus ............................................. 1034
Accepting Input..................................................................................................... 1035
Save from SQL*Plus to a File ............................................................................... 1037
Fetch Scripts into SQL*Plus Using the GET Command ........................................ 1038
Edit SQL*Plus Command in Your Default Editor.................................................. 1038
SQL*Plus Built-In Editing Commands .................................................................. 1039
DOS Tricks ....................................................................................................... 1041
All About Output .................................................................................................. 1043
Formatting Query Results.................................................................................. 1043
Get the Screen Ready..................................................................................... 1044
Formatting Columns ...................................................................................... 1044
Un-Formatting columns................................................................................. 1046
Saving Output to a File ...................................................................................... 1046
Printing ............................................................................................................. 1047
The CLEAR Command ......................................................................................... 1047
How To Clear Column Formats......................................................................... 1048
How to Clear The SQL Buffer ........................................................................... 1049
How to Clear the Screen.................................................................................... 1049
Changing Your Database Password ....................................................................... 1050
Exiting SQL*Plus.................................................................................................. 1051
Chapter 34: Structured Query Language (SQL) ......................................................... 1052
Introduction to SQL .............................................................................................. 1053
Standards and Compliance .................................................................................... 1054
SELECT................................................................................................................ 1054
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1054
The SELECT Clause ..................................................................................... 1055
The FROM Clause......................................................................................... 1055
The WHERE Clause ...................................................................................... 1055

Table of Contents
IN versus EXISTS ..................................................................................... 1056
The ORDER BY Clause ................................................................................ 1056
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1057
Selecting Against DUAL ................................................................................... 1057
Examples........................................................................................................... 1057
INSERT ................................................................................................................ 1060
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1061
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1062
Examples........................................................................................................... 1062
UPDATE .............................................................................................................. 1062
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1063
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1063
Examples........................................................................................................... 1063
DELETE ............................................................................................................... 1064
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1064
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1065
Examples........................................................................................................... 1065
TRUNCATE ......................................................................................................... 1066
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1066
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1066
Examples........................................................................................................... 1066
CREATE TABLESPACE ..................................................................................... 1067
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1067
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1068
About Locally Managed Extent Sizes ................................................................ 1068
Examples........................................................................................................... 1069
After Thoughts .................................................................................................. 1070
CREATE TABLE ................................................................................................. 1071
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1071
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1073
Examples........................................................................................................... 1073
CREATE TABLE AS SELECT (CTAS) ............................................................... 1074
ALTER TABLE .................................................................................................... 1075
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1075
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1075
Examples........................................................................................................... 1076
RENAME ............................................................................................................. 1076
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1077
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1077
Examples........................................................................................................... 1077
DROP TABLE ...................................................................................................... 1077
Syntax ............................................................................................................... 1077
Security Considerations ..................................................................................... 1078
Examples........................................................................................................... 1078
Add Comments to Your Schema ........................................................................... 1078

Table of Contents
Working with Dates .............................................................................................. 1079
Intro to Date and Time Data Types .................................................................... 1080
How Oracle Stores Dates and Times.................................................................. 1080
Displaying System Date and Time Data............................................................. 1081
Understanding the Date & Time Format Mask................................................... 1082
Date & Time Conversion Functions................................................................... 1084
TO_CHAR .................................................................................................... 1084
TO_DATE..................................................................................................... 1085
Working with Nulls ............................................................................................... 1085
NULL Values Can Change Query Results ......................................................... 1086
Testing Columns for NULL Values ................................................................... 1087
Functions for Working with NULLs .................................................................. 1087
NVL .............................................................................................................. 1088
NLV2 ............................................................................................................ 1088
NULLIF ........................................................................................................ 1088
Understanding Pseudo Columns ............................................................................ 1089
LEVEL.............................................................................................................. 1089
NEXTVAL........................................................................................................ 1090
ORA_ROWSCN ............................................................................................... 1091
ROWID............................................................................................................. 1091
ROWNUM........................................................................................................ 1092
Chapter 35: Oracle Data Pump .................................................................................. 1094
Introduction to Data Pump .................................................................................... 1095
What Data Pump Cannot Do.............................................................................. 1096
The Components of Data Pump ............................................................................. 1096
Master Control Table......................................................................................... 1096
Background Processes ....................................................................................... 1097
Data Pump Views.............................................................................................. 1097
The Data Pump API (PL/SQL Supplied Packages) ............................................ 1097
DATA_PUMP_DIR .......................................................................................... 1099
Data Pump Security............................................................................................... 1099
Security on Directory Objects............................................................................ 1100
Security on Data Pump ...................................................................................... 1100
Invokers Rights Issues...................................................................................... 1101
Data Pump Setup................................................................................................... 1102
Getting Help.......................................................................................................... 1103
Exporting Data Using Data Pump Export .............................................................. 1104
Preparing for Export .......................................................................................... 1104
Modes of Data Pump Export.............................................................................. 1104
Estimating the Size of Exports........................................................................... 1105
An Example of Using Data Pump Export........................................................... 1106
Controlling the Output....................................................................................... 1108
Working with Distributed Databases ................................................................. 1108
Naming the Data Pump Job ............................................................................... 1109
Checking the Status of an Export....................................................................... 1109

Table of Contents
Resuming an Export .......................................................................................... 1110
Exporting From Within PL/SQL Procedures...................................................... 1111
Importing Data Using Data Pump Import .............................................................. 1112
What is Data Pump Import ................................................................................ 1113
The Parameters.................................................................................................. 1113
FLASHBACK_TIME and FLASHBACK_SCN ............................................ 1113
NETWORK_LINK........................................................................................ 1114
PARALLEL .................................................................................................. 1114
QUERY......................................................................................................... 1115
REMAP_DATAFILE .................................................................................... 1115
REMAP_SCHEMA....................................................................................... 1115
REMAP_TABLESPACE .............................................................................. 1115
TABLE_EXISTS_ACTION .......................................................................... 1115
TRANSFORM .............................................................................................. 1116
An Example of Using Data Pump Import........................................................... 1116
Chapter 36: Oracle Partitioning ................................................................................. 1119
What is Oracle Partitioning ................................................................................... 1120
Who Should Use Partitioning ................................................................................ 1122
Whats New in Oracle 10g Partitioning ................................................................. 1123
When Can Partitions Be Created ........................................................................... 1123
When Creating Tables ....................................................................................... 1123
Add a Partition to the End of a Partitioned Table ............................................... 1124
Split a Partition Within a Partitioned Table........................................................ 1124
Swap a Non-Partitioned Segment With a Partitioned Segment........................... 1124
Use Package DBMS_REDEFINITION.............................................................. 1125
Types of Table Partitioning ................................................................................... 1125
Hash Partitioning............................................................................................... 1125
List Partitioning................................................................................................. 1126
Range Partitioning............................................................................................. 1127
Composite Range + Hash Partitioning ............................................................... 1128
Composite Range + List Partitioning ................................................................. 1129
Composite Partitioning Using Templates............................................................... 1130
Partitioning Tables with LOBs .............................................................................. 1131
Compressing Table Partitions ................................................................................ 1132
Types of Index Partitioning ................................................................................... 1134
Global Prefixed Indexes .................................................................................... 1134
Global Non-Prefixed Indexes ............................................................................ 1135
Local Prefixed Indexes ...................................................................................... 1136
Local Non-Prefixed Indexes .............................................................................. 1136
Views to Describe Partitions.................................................................................. 1137
How to Install and Configure Oracle Partitioning .................................................. 1139
Add Oracle Partitioning to an Existing Home ........................................................ 1140
How to Remove Oracle Partitioning ...................................................................... 1140
How Much Does Partitioning Cost ........................................................................ 1140
Limitations of Oracle Partitioning ......................................................................... 1141

Table of Contents
General Limitations ........................................................................................... 1141
Partition Key Limitations .................................................................................. 1142
Chapter 37: Intro to Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) .......................................... 1143
What is RMAN ..................................................................................................... 1144
What Are the Components of an RMAN Environment ...................................... 1144
Why Use RMAN................................................................................................... 1145
What Are the Main Features of RMAN ............................................................. 1146
What Are the Main Cons of RMAN .................................................................. 1147
Cross-Version RMAN Compatibility Issues ...................................................... 1148
RMAN Versus Your Own Solution ................................................................... 1149
RMAN and the Flash Recovery Area................................................................. 1150
Using RMAN to Reclaim Space in the FRA .................................................. 1151
RMAN and Media Managers / SBT Destinations............................................... 1152
Introduction to Media Managers, Libraries, and Modules .............................. 1152
Licensing Issues for Oracle RMAN ....................................................................... 1153
Implementing RMAN............................................................................................ 1153
Define Your RMAN Infrastructure .................................................................... 1154
Install the RMAN Software ............................................................................... 1155
Create an RMAN Recovery Catalog Database ................................................... 1155
Planning Comes First..................................................................................... 1155
Run the DBCA To Create a New Database .................................................... 1156
Create the RMAN Schema ................................................................................ 1167
Create the RMAN Recovery Catalog................................................................. 1168
Register A Target Database ............................................................................... 1168
Configure Database Control as Your RMAN Interface ...................................... 1169
About Connections................................................................................................ 1170
Basic RMAN Commands ...................................................................................... 1170
Administrative Commands ................................................................................ 1171
Configure the Default Device Type ............................................................... 1172
Configure the Default Destination and File Name Format.............................. 1173
Configure the Retention Period...................................................................... 1173
Configure Auto-Backup of the Control File ................................................... 1174
Deleting Backups .......................................................................................... 1174
Deleting Expired Backups and Archlogs........................................................ 1175
Show the Current Settings ............................................................................. 1175
Resynchronize the Catalog ............................................................................ 1176
Reset the Database Profile ............................................................................. 1176
Backup Commands............................................................................................ 1177
Understanding the Syntax .............................................................................. 1177
Omitting or Skipping Objects During Backups .............................................. 1178
To Backup or Copy, That is the Question ...................................................... 1178
Backing Up and Copying Image Copies......................................................... 1179
Backing Up Archlogs .................................................................................... 1180
Backing Up The Flash Recovery Area ........................................................... 1182
Backing Up When Space Is Limited .............................................................. 1184

Table of Contents
Using Tags to Name Backups ........................................................................ 1185
Using Backup Commands to Scan for File Corruption................................... 1185
Restore and Recovery Commands ..................................................................... 1186
The Restore Process and Command Overview ............................................... 1186
The Recovery Process and Command Overview ............................................ 1187
Typical Restore and Recover Commands....................................................... 1187
Restoring Archlogs ........................................................................................ 1189
Using Tags to Restore a Named Backup ........................................................ 1189
Chapter 38: Upgrading to 10g & Migrating Platforms ............................................... 1191
Introduction........................................................................................................... 1192
Upgrading from 9.2 to 10.2 ............................................................................... 1192
Migrating from Windows to Solaris................................................................... 1193
Changing Word Size From 32-bit to 64-bit Oracle............................................. 1194
Additional Memory Requirements ................................................................. 1195
Upgrade Methods.................................................................................................. 1196
Tips and Suggestions......................................................................................... 1196
Migration Methods................................................................................................ 1197
Oracle Export & Import..................................................................................... 1198
Time is Against You...................................................................................... 1198
A Quick Review of the Export & Import Utilities .......................................... 1199
Oracle Advanced Replication ............................................................................ 1200
Oracle Streams Replication ............................................................................... 1201
What is Oracle Streams Replication............................................................... 1201
The Pros and Cons of Using Streams to Migrate and Upgrade a Database...... 1202
Oracle Transportable Tablespaces ..................................................................... 1204
Limitations .................................................................................................... 1204
Phases ........................................................................................................... 1206
Phase 1 - Generate a Transportable Tablespace Set .................................... 1206
Phase 2 - Convert the Endianness of Datafiles ........................................... 1207
Phase 3 - Transfer the Tablespaces............................................................. 1208
Phase 4 - Plug-In the Tablespaces .............................................................. 1208
Oracle RMAN Duplicate Database .................................................................... 1209
Limitations .................................................................................................... 1210
Oracle RMANs CONVERT Command ............................................................ 1210
Limitations .................................................................................................... 1211
GoldenGate TDM.............................................................................................. 1211
Quest SharePlex for Oracle................................................................................ 1213
Phases ........................................................................................................... 1213
Phase 1 - Capture....................................................................................... 1213
Phase 2 - Transport .................................................................................... 1213
Phase 3 - Post ............................................................................................ 1213
Oracle Puts SharePlex Customers on Notice .................................................. 1213
Consider These Oracle Issues Before Upgrading ................................................... 1214
Gone is the Rule Based Optimizer ..................................................................... 1214
Statistics are Gathered Automatically ................................................................ 1214

Table of Contents
The New SYSAUX Tablespace ......................................................................... 1215
The New Flash Recovery Area .......................................................................... 1216
Flashback, Undo Retention, and The Recycle Bin.............................................. 1216
Initialization Parameter File Modifications ........................................................ 1217
New Initialization Parameters to Consider Adding......................................... 1217
Old Initialization Parameters to Consider Removing...................................... 1218
Old Initialization Parameters to Consider Changing....................................... 1219
Plan Your New Sever Configuration Before Migrating.......................................... 1220
Select Hardware Platform.................................................................................. 1220
Select Server Model and Specifications ............................................................. 1221
Select Operating System Including Version and Word Size ............................... 1221
Determine Need for 3rd Party File System Management.................................... 1222
Determine Need for Other 3rd Party Software ................................................... 1222
Define Storage Requirements ............................................................................ 1223
Identify Oracle's Required Kernel Parameters.................................................... 1223
Define Directory Names / Paths......................................................................... 1223
Select Oracle Software Including Edition, Version and Word Size .................... 1225
Select Infrastructure Elements Like RMAN, Grid Control, and ASO/SSL ......... 1226
Define Naming Conventions for Databases and Listeners .................................. 1227
Define Oracle Software Owner - UNIX User and Group Names........................ 1228
Select a UNIX Shell such as C, Bourne, Korn, or Bash...................................... 1229
Identify Oracle's Required User Environment Variables .................................... 1229
Chapter 39: A Quick Look at 10g RAC on Veritas SF/RAC with WebLogic............. 1231
What is Oracle RAC.............................................................................................. 1232
What is Veritas SF/RAC ....................................................................................... 1234
Supported Versions ........................................................................................... 1236
Size Limitations ................................................................................................ 1236
Whats Coming in Version 5 ............................................................................. 1237
Files and Storage................................................................................................... 1237
Redundancy is Key............................................................................................ 1237
Types of Files and Where to Store Them ........................................................... 1238
Overview of the 10g RAC Installation Process ...................................................... 1239
Gathering the Facts and Getting the System Ready............................................ 1240
Order of Operations........................................................................................... 1241
Upgrading RAC from 10.1 to 10.2..................................................................... 1243
Patchset 10.2.0.3 for Oracle RAC ...................................................................... 1243
What's Different About Creating RAC Databases.................................................. 1244
Sample Oracle Net Files for RAC.......................................................................... 1246
Sample SQLNET.ORA for RAC ....................................................................... 1246
Sample TNSNAMES.ORA for RAC ................................................................. 1247
Sample LISTENER.ORA for RAC.................................................................... 1249
Tips for Working with RAC Databases ................................................................. 1250
Understanding the Veritas Libraries for RAC ........................................................ 1251
The Veritas Cluster Server Membership Manager (VCS MM) Library .............. 1252
The Veritas Cluster Server Inter-Process Communication (VCS ICP) Library ... 1254

Table of Contents
The Veritas Cluster Server Oracle Disk Manager (VCS ODM) Library ............. 1257
Tasks to Perform When Patching Oracle and Veritas SF/RAC........................... 1259
Using WebLogic with RAC................................................................................... 1262
Introduction to WebLogic MultiPool ................................................................. 1262
Skip Configuring tnsnames.ora? ........................................................................ 1262
Sample Thin Driver URLs................................................................................. 1263
No Remote Listeners, Please ............................................................................. 1263
Reconfigure the Oracle Listener to Accommodate Connection Pools................. 1264
The Problem .................................................................................................. 1264
The Relevant Listener Parameter ................................................................... 1265
Understanding Your Options for Connection Load Balancing........................ 1265
RAC Considerations ...................................................................................... 1265
Examples....................................................................................................... 1266
Summary....................................................................................................... 1266
Pitfalls ........................................................................................................... 1266
Chapter 40: Unusual and Catch All Errors ............................................................ 1267
LRM-00104: 'n;' is not a legal integer for 'parallel'................................................. 1268
LRM-00116: syntax error at 'TABLE:' following '='.............................................. 1268
ORA-00439: Feature not enabled; Partitioning ...................................................... 1269
ORA-00093: _SHARED_POOL_RESERVED_MIN_ALLOC MUST BE BETWEEN
4000 AND 0.......................................................................................................... 1270
ORA-00600 [kdimodnu0: non-colvec supplement]................................................ 1270
ORA-00600 [Keltnfy-ldmInit] , [46] , [1] .............................................................. 1270
ORA-00600 [kzaSqlBindLob1] , [22923].............................................................. 1270
ORA-600 [LibraryCacheNotEmptyOnClose] ........................................................ 1270
ORA-00824: cannot set sga_target due to existing internal settings ....................... 1271
ORA-07445........................................................................................................... 1271
ORA-10635: Invalid segment or tablespace type ................................................... 1271
ORA-10636: ROW MOVEMENT is not enabled .................................................. 1272
ORA-12500: TNS:listener failed to start a dedicated server process ...................... 1272
ORA-12545: Connect failed because target host or object does not exist ............... 1272
ORA-12640: Authentication Adapter Intialization Failed ...................................... 1272
ORA-16014: log string sequence# string not archived, no available destinations ... 1273
ORA-19809: limit exceeded for recovery files....................................................... 1273
ORA-19905: log_archive_format must contain %%s, %%t and %%r .................... 1273
ORA-23616: Failure in executing block 30 for script
245971217D86310DE0440003BA73140D............................................................ 1273
ORA-24313: user already authenticated ................................................................ 1274
ORA-25191: cannot reference overflow table of an index-organized table............. 1274
ORA-26752: Unsupported LCR received .............................................................. 1274
ORA-27477: <object name> already exists............................................................ 1274
ORA-28368: cannot auto-create wallet .................................................................. 1275
ORA-38700: Limit of %s flashback database logs has been exceeded. .................. 1275
ORA-38760: This database instance failed to turn on flashback database .............. 1275
ORA-39087: directory name <name> is invalid..................................................... 1275

Table of Contents
ORA-39145: directory object parameter must be specified and non-null................ 1276
OPatch Error 73 .................................................................................................... 1276
Chapter 41: A Very Brief Glossary............................................................................ 1278
PUBLISHERS INDEX NOT INCLUDED WITH EBOOK DISTRIBUTION

Oracle Database 10g: From Nuts to Soup

Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Intro to Oracle Recovery Manager

(RMAN)
This chapter provides an overview of the Oracle Recovery Manager utility, commonly
referred to as RMAN. The installation and use of RMAN are covered, and a discussion
of the all important planning and preparation activities to be performed prior to
implementing an RMAN solution in any environment.
The information in this chapter is organized into the following sections:
v What is RMAN
v Why Use RMAN
v Licensing Issues for Oracle RMAN
v Implementing RMAN
v About Connections
v Basic RMAN Commands

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What is RMAN
Oracle Recovery Manager, or RMAN, is an enterprise class tool for performing backup
and recovery operations on Oracle databases. It supports full and incremental backups,
hot and cold backups, and two types of compression (NULL and Binary). Encryption is
supported for Enterprise Edition customers who have a current license for the Oracle
Advanced Security Option (ASO).
RMAN also works with several of the leading media managers, or tape library servers.
RMAN runs on all platforms that the Oracle database runs on, and works with target
databases version 8.0 and higher.
The following sections further describe RMAN in terms of its various components and
capabilities. Later sections discuss the features and limitations of RMAN.

What Are the Components of an RMAN Environment

To understand RMAN, it helps to think about the various components of RMAN. Every
RMAN installation has three core components: the RMAN utility software, the database
you want to backup, and a repository that keeps track of the target databases and related
backup and recovery facts. There are additional components, which are optional.
The three core components of RMAN, and two more optional components of RMAN, are
described below:
The RMAN Utility Software Also known as the RMAN Client, this is the
software that can be used to backup and recover a target database. The main
executable is a file named rman.exe on Windows, or simply rman on many UNIX
platforms. The executable is stored in directory $ORACLE_HOME/bin. The
RMAN client has a command-line user interface (CLUI), as opposed to a
graphical user interface (GUI). If you really need a GUI for RMAN, you can use
the OEM Database Control, but some RMAN functionality is not supported and
can only be accessed through the RMAN CLUI. The RMAN utility also uses a
proprietary and unique command set: RMAN does not use standard SQL or
SQL*Plus commands.
The Target Databases These are the databases you want to backup or recover
using RMAN. They are referred to as targets because they are targets of your
backup strategy.
The RMAN Repository This is where Oracle stores metadata about each of
your target databases and all of the backup and recovery operations performed on
each of those target databases. The repository can be implemented in two forms:
the target databases control file, or a Recovery Catalog Database. By default the
RMAN repository is stored in your target databases control file, but it is limited
on space, cannot be used to store scripts, and only supports one target database.
The Recovery Catalog Database is an optional database with a special RMAN
recovery catalog schema. Simply known as The Catalog, the Repository
Catalog Database stores all RMAN repository information from all of your target
databases. The Recovery Catalog Database can be stored anywhere on your

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network, including other geographic locations, so that if your target databases

were lost in a disaster your Recovery Catalog Database would survive and be
useful in reconstituting all of your target databases.
Flash Recovery Area (FRA) An optional component of the RMAN
environment that is essentially a large disk area that RMAN can use to store
backups. The FRA can be used to store archived redo logs, but RMAN works
fine whether you store the archlogs in the FRA or not. The FRA can also be used
to store Flashback Database Log files used by the Flashback Database command,
and the Change Track Writer index used by RMAN to perform very fast
incremental backups. The FRA is also a great place to store multiplexed copies of
your target database control files and on-line redo log files.
Media Manager - An optional component of the RMAN environment such as a
network attached tape server or optical jukebox. A few Oracle customers backup
to locally attached disks, but most large organizations have Media Manager
infrastructure in place, and require their database backup and recovery solutions
work with that existing infrastructure. The most commonly used type of media
manager is a tape system, such as the IBM Tivoli Storage Manager. Oracle
generally does not provide interfaces to Media Managers. Oracle makes available
an API kit for Media Manager vendors to integrate their products with RMAN.
For example, IBM makes the Tivoli Data Protection for Oracle, which is a
software module for connecting RMAN to Tivoli Storage Manager.

Why Use RMAN

In the sections that follow, I discuss many reasons to consider using Oracles Recovery
Manager (RMAN) utility for database backup and recovery operations. I discuss the
main features of RMAN, as well as the primary negatives of RMAN. I then provide a
comparison of using RMAN versus your own (i.e., home grown) backup and recovery
scripts.
Keep in mind that Oracle RMAN is free. It might not have every feature that a more
expensive 3rd party product has, but you need to determine the value of those extra
features. A large organization could spend several million dollars on a 3rd party
alternative to RMAN, and spend another million dollars per year on annual maintenance
agreements and upgrades over the lifespan of that product. You have to wonder if they
really got their moneys worth, considering the features that are available in the free
RMAN solution.
Over the years, since RMAN was first introduced with Oracle 8, the RMAN product has
come a long way. If you used it with Oracle 8 or 8i, and got completely turned off to
RMAN at that time (like I did), then you should take another look at the 10g version of
RMAN. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how mature the product has become.

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What Are the Main Features of RMAN

RMAN has numerous features making it an enterprise class backup and recovery
solution. The new features alone could fill a chapter in this book. In this section I
describe some of the main features found in RMAN.
Backup Sets RMAN allows you to backup database files as a backup set. A
backup set is a proprietary RMAN format that stores one or more files, such as
datafiles, control files, archlogs, or SPFILE. Database files are typically
compressed within backup sets, and use less storage space on disk and tape. Also,
because backup sets typically contains multiple database files, writes to tape run
with fewer interruptions.
Image Copies RMAN allows you to copy database files as Image Copies. An
Image Copy is a true copy of a file, like an operating system copy command
issued as part of a cold backup, but because it was made in RMAN it is recorded
in the RMAN Recovery Catalog and can be used in automated recovery
operations. RMAN makes image copies while the database is up and running,
and does not need to issue any special commands to take the file off-line or put
the tablespace in backup mode. Competing products might refer to these as online and off-line backups, but with RMAN the copies are true bit-for-bit copies.
Full and Incremental Backups RMAN can be used to take a backup of the
whole database, and it can be used to take a backup of things that changed. If a
full backup is taken while the database is hot (i.e., a Backup Set) then RMAN
skips the unused blocks above each segments high water mark, for faster backups
and smaller backup set files. If an incremental database is taken while the
database is live, then RMAN is able to capture just those blocks that have
changed since some point in time. All competing products offer full backups, but
their full backups take longer and produce larger backup sets because they dont
skip the empty blocks. Likewise, the incremental backups of some competing
products take longer because they have to check every blocks header to see if it
has been changed since the last backup, whereas Oracle and RMAN work
together and support each other.
Fast Incremental Backups This is a new feature in RMAN 10g supported by
the Block Change Tracking feature, which itself is a new feature in Oracle
Database 10g. The databases new Change Track Writer process continually
updates a bitmap index stored on the file system with the ID numbers of blocks
that have changed since the last backup. The index is generally very small, and
can be read very quickly by RMAN. Using this technique, RMAN can quickly
locate the blocks that need to be backed up. And, because the bitmap index
contains the blocks precise address, RMAN can access and backup those blocks
very fast.
Block Corruption Detection and Repair RMAN has a BACKUP VALIDATE
command that can be used to validate your database files. No backup will be
generated. Instead, RMAN will validate the names and locations of the files for
logical corruption issues, and will check the files at the block-level for physical
corruption. If any corruptions are found, RMAN writes the information to the
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databases data dictionary where it can be reviewed using the view

V$DATABASE_BLOCK_CORRUPTION. If physical block corruption is
encountered, you can use RMAN to rectify the situation with the
BLOCKRECOVERY CORRUPTION LIST command. By default, the BACKUP
VALIDATE DATABASE command only checks for physical corruption, but you
can always force it to check for logical corruption using the BACKUP
VALIDATE CHECK LOGICAL DATABASE command.
Encrypted Backups RMAN can encrypt backups using a password or the
credentials stored in an Oracle Wallet. Password based encryption requires you to
enter the password on each backup and restore operation, as RMAN has no way
to store or persist the password between operations. Wallet-based encryption runs
transparently to the system, and does not prompt the operator to enter any
passwords. However, the same Wallet must always be available or you cannot
restore the data, which is really bad for post-disaster recovery operations.
Encrypted backups requires Oracle 10.2 or higher, requires a separate license for
Oracles Advanced Security Option (ASO), you cannot encrypt image copies
made by RMAN, and you can only encrypt backups to tape if the media manager
is Oracles own Oracle Secure Backup.
Compression RMAN supports two types of compressed backups: NULL
Compression and Binary. NULL Compression works by skipping blocks that
have never contained data; some 3rd party tools also do this, but they still have to
scan each block to see if it contains data, whereas RMAN simply skips all blocks
beyond a certain address. Binary compression is a new feature in RMAN 10g that
utilizes the existing Oracle Server compression process for archlogs; backup sets
can often be compressed by factors between 2 and 4, but it depends on your
database.
Recovery Catalog Database By default Oracle only stores backup and
recovery metadata in the target databases control file. If the control file is lost,
then all metadata is lost. RMAN allows you to create a centralized repository,
where the metadata for all target databases is stored. The repository is an Oracle
database, referred to as the Recovery Catalog Database. Because the repository is
an Oracle database, it can be secured and backed up. For example, you can export
the contents of the repository using Oracle DataPump Export and Import utilities.
You can also replicate it to other locations for high availability and disaster
survivability. Many competing products offer far less capable solutions to storing
the backup and recovery metadata.
Tip: in the 10.2 release of RMAN, Oracle has changed the NULL Compression algorithm
to be more efficient. In previous releases RMAN would only skip blocks that were never
NULL, but starting in 10.2 it will skip blocks that are currently NULL.

What Are the Main Cons of RMAN

There are several limitations of the RMAN product that could lead to incomplete
recoveries after a major disaster, unless you plan accordingly. By incomplete, I mean in
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some cases data could be missing, but it most cases the environment would be missing
certain things. Please take the time to review the below list of shortfalls, and update your
disaster recovery plans accordingly:
RMAN cannot backup BFILEs or external tables, as both are stored outside of the
database.
RMAN cannot backup database password files or network configuration files.
RMAN cannot backup the Oracle Base or Oracle Home locations.
RMAN cannot backup non-Oracle databases. If your organization has non-Oracle
databases, you could use a different backup & recovery tool for each of them, or
you could try to find one tool that covers them all.
If you are using advanced features like Data Guard, then be sure to review the list of
known issues between RMAN and those advanced features.
Compared to 3rd party tools, there are a few additional shortcomings. RMAN does not
monitor your archlogs destination for space pressure, and does not automatically initiate
backup/removal of archlogs to maintain free space like some 3rd party alternatives.
Most enterprise class backup and recovery tools also help you write scripts, but with
RMAN you need to use the OEM Database Control to generate those scripts with
limitations or you can write them the hard way (i.e., no wizards) inside the RMAN
utility. The 3rd party tools might also allow you to initiate logical backups (i.e., import
and export operations) in addition to physical backups and recoveries, whereas RMAN
strictly supports physical backups and recoveries.
The new encryption features of RMAN might not be available to you depending on
whether you have 10g Release 1 or 2, and there are licensing restrictions on the
encryption feature as well. Additionally, the unused block compression feature, which
is also known as NULL Compression, generally continues to backup empty blocks up to
the high water mark. None of these issues are showstoppers to preclude the use of
RMAN, but still you should take them into consideration when deliberating between
RMAN and a 3rd party product.

Cross-Version RMAN Compatibility Issues

You can use various versions of RMAN to backup Oracle databases, and many customers
run multiple versions of Oracle databases on the same server. However, you cannot mix
and match RMAN and database versions without restrictions. The newer versions of
RMAN contain commands that are not recognized by older target databases. Your
Recovery Catalog database should correspond to the highest version of RMAN you are
using.
According to Oracle Note 307022.1, you should always use the target databases RMAN
executable to backup the database. In other words, you should ensure that the version of
the RMAN executable precisely matches the version of the target database. The same
note also states that you should always use the latest release of Oracle Database Server
for your Recovery Catalog, if you are using a Recovery Catalog database to store the
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RMAN repository. Using the latest version ensures the greatest degree of compatibility
with the many versions of your target databases.
Its not uncommon to have multiple Recovery Catalog databases for use with RMAN.
You might have one to use when backing up Oracle 8.1.7 databases, another for
managing backups of Oracle 9.2 databases, and another for Oracle 10.2 targets. This is
not required, but some DBAs contend it makes their environment cleaner because it
eliminates the pitfalls of mixing software versions. When a database is upgraded from
9.2 to 10.2, for example, the old backup metadata is left in the 9.2 Recovery Catalog
Database and the new databases metadata is stored in the 10.2 Recovery Catalog
Database.

RMAN Versus Your Own Solution

In this section I discuss the limitations of custom solutions, and how those limitations are
overcome by RMAN.
Writing your own backup solution requires no special tools or programming language
skills other than rudimentary SQL and PL/SQL. I typically build such solutions in
Windows Notepad or VI using SQL*Plus and a few PL/SQL commands. In two days
you can draft your own backup solution. Lets say that it takes a whole week, because
you take the time to debug your program, enhance it, and run it through a series of tests.
If we assumed that the average hourly rate for a mid-to-senior Oracle DBA is $125/hour,
then writing your own backup solution costs your customer $5,000. Thats cheap. Many
3rd party products charge large organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars, even
millions.
As described above, cost might be a good argument for using a home-grown solution
versus a pricey 3rd party product. Cost is generally not a good argument for not using
RMAN, because RMAN is free. Lets think for a minute: what might a home-grown
solution have or lack compared to RMAN?
Custom solutions can typically perform hot and cold backups. Custom solutions are also
typically dynamic, so that any new tablespaces or files are automatically picked up by the
backup routine. Custom backups can be scheduled, just like the more pricey alternatives,
by using a UNIX cron table or the Windows Scheduler feature.
Custom solutions generally can only do full backups, and cannot do incremental backups.
If you are using SQL and PL/SQL commands, and even standard operating system
commands, you have no way to know which blocks inside each datafile have changed
since the last backup.
Custom backups also have trouble with parallel operations and performance in general.
Another place where custom backup solutions tend to be lacking is compression; custom
backups typically just put the tablespaces into hot backup mode, and then copy the
database files to another location. On some platforms its relatively easy to send the
stream through a compression utility, but on other platforms it is not so easy.

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Perhaps the greatest inability of the custom solution is to send the backup to a media
manager such as a tape library system. Its very easy to backup to disk, and its not too
difficult to backup to a local tape drive, but its a major feat to backup to an enterprise
class 3rd party media manager like IBMs TSM. Probably the best you could do is
backup to a disk, and then let those files be archived to tape as part of the operating
systems nightly backup routine.

RMAN and the Flash Recovery Area

In this section I discuss how RMAN uses the new Oracle 10g Flash Recovery Area
(FRA). RMAN and the FRA interact in two basic ways:
RMAN can use the FRA to flashback your database
RMAN can backup the FRA to tape
I want to focus on the first of the above two interactions between RMAN and the FRA.
The second item, backing up to tape, is generally not covered in this book because each
3rd party vendor has unique steps and procedures.
Earlier in this book I described the Flash Recovery Area (FRA) in terms of its various
background processes, memory structures, log files, and initialization parameters. To
quickly recap, Oracle captures the before images of blocks and writes them out to
Flashback log files in the FRA. If you tell Oracle to flashback the database to a prior
point in time or SCN, then Oracle applies those before images from the Flashback log
files to the datafiles. If the before images get close but not close enough to the flashback
point, then Oracle rolls forward with the archlogs and on-line redo log files.
Assuming you have configured the database to use the FRA and related processes and
memory areas, you should next tell Oracle which files to store in the FRA. Oracle will
automatically store all Flashback log files in the FRA. Typically, you should store in the
FRA one copy of your control file, one member from each on-line redo log group, and
one copy of each archived redo log file. If you are using RMAN, then you should also
set the backup destination to be the FRA: a full image copy of the database as well as any
full and incremental backup sets should be stored here.
Tip: to store all of these files in the FRA, you need to allocate approximately three to
four times as much disk space to the FRA as you did for your datafiles. A terabyte FRA
would not be unusual.
Writing backups to the FRA is a simple matter. If you set the initialization parameter
DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST to a valid value, then RMAN will append to that value
your database name, and the word backupset, and the current date. In the end, Oracle
creates a unique directory name for each backupset based on the DB Name plus date. All
files associated with the given backupset are stored in this one location.
For example: if I set DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST = /oraflash and I set
DB_NAME=REMIDATA, then RMANs backups might go to a destination like the one
shown below. Note, the file name is OMF generated and ends with .bkp.
/oraflash/REMIDATA/backupset/2006_07_29/<omf filename>.bkp

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You can issue the same FLASHBACK DATABASE command in either SQL*Plus or
RMAN. If you will issue it in SQL*Plus, then it is up to you to first ensure all prerequisites are satisfied. If you run the command in RMAN, then it will check to make
sure all datafiles and required log files (flashback, on-line redo, and archlogs) are present.
Also, if you use RMAN and it determines rolling forward is required, then it will do that
automatically, whereas in SQL*Plus you have to take care of that yourself.
Before you can use Flashback Database, there are a few big showstoppers to consider.
These are easily overcome, but you need to be aware of these issues and plan
accordingly.
You cannot flashback any datafiles that have grown after the time you want to
flashback to. For this reason, I recommend against creating your datafiles with
the AUTOEXTEND ON clause if you will be using the Flashback Database
feature.
You cannot flashback the database unless all datafiles are present. If a datafile is
missing or corrupted, then you must recover that datafile using traditional media
recovery techniques prior to flashing back the database.
Whats interesting is that Oracle will not do a recovery operation as part of a flashback.
If the best way to get you back to a certain point in time is to restore backup files and roll
forward, it will ignore that and stick to its task of pulling the before images out of the
flashback log files and injecting them into the datafiles.
Using RMAN to Reclaim Space in the FRA
All files put into the FRA consume space against a quota. Simply removing files from
the FRA (i.e., using operating system commands) does not update Oracles metadata
related to the FRA, reclaimable space, and your quota. The only way to do all that is to
use RMAN to backup the FRA to tape. This tell Oracle the files are no longer required to
remain in the FRA and can be removed to reclaim space.
Tip: you should not use the FRA unless you are also using RMAN.
Using RMAN to backup the FRA to tape instructs Oracle to update the data dictionary
tables that monitor space within the FRA. For example, you will notice column
SPACE_RECLAIMABLE increases in the view V$RECOVERY_FILE_DEST after each
backup of the FRA to tape. Backing up the FRA to a disk location is not supported, and
does not make Oracle aware of reclaimable space.
As noted earlier, Oracle is unable to manage space within the FRA unless you have
configured RMAN to backup the FRA to a tertiary storage device, such as a tape library.
However, Oracle realizes that many developers (including thousands of their own
employees and contractors) do not have access to tape storage systems. Oracle provides
the "oracle.disksbt" API, which can be used to define a disk area as a pseudo-tape device,
and thus allows you to backup the FRA to disk using a SBT_TAPE channel even though
you don't really have a tape system. For example,
RMAN> configure channel device type 'SBT_TAPE' parms
'SBT_LIBRARY=oracle.disksbt,ENV=(BACKUP_DIR=/disk3)';

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Please note the "oracle.disksbt" API is for development systems only, and is not a support
means of backing up production database systems.
Then, to do the actual backup of the recovery area you can use the RMAN command
BACKUP DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST as shown here:
RMAN>

BACKUP DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST;

Actually, the keyword DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST as shown above is a synonym for

the Recovery Area. This means you could also perform the exact same backup of the
Flash Recovery Area using this command:
RMAN>

BACKUP RECOVERY AREA;

Tip: occassionally RMAN will fail to backup the FRA, claiming that an archived redo log
file is missing; you see the section on Backing Up the Flash Recovery Area for
information about how to resolve this issue.
Now that you have used RMAN to backup the FRA to a SBT device, you are free to
delete some of the backups and archlogs from the FRA and make room for new files.
RMAN>

DELETE OBSOLETE;

RMAN and Media Managers / SBT Destinations

In this section I discuss how RMAN can be used with tape devices and storage managers
like IBMs Tivoli Storage Manager, EMCs Legato NetWorker, Symantecs Veritas
NetBackup, and Computer Associates BrightStore ARCserve Backup.
Some 3rd party products use RMAN to do the backups of your Oracle databases, and they
provide their own software as a fancy user interface as well as a system interface (or
module) between RMAN and their backup infrastructure. Other companies sell whole
packages, replacing RMAN altogether. If you really want to use RMAN in conjunction
with a 3rd party Media Manager, then you must make this point clear to the vendor.
Introduction to Media Managers, Libraries, and Modules
RMAN by itself can only backup to disk; RMAN out of the box cannot backup to tape.
The disks used to hold your RMAN backups can be internal or mounted. For example,
the disks could be part of a corporate storage array that is mounted to your Windowsbased Oracle server as the D drive. If your Oracle server catches on fire, your backups
are safe because they are stored some place across the network on the corporate storage
array.
If you want to use RMAN to backup directly to tape, then you need a Media Manager. A
Media Manager runs the media infrastructure (i.e., tape library servers). There are plenty
of 3rd party media managers. Oracle even offers a product called Oracle Secure Backup.
Sitting between RMAN and the Media Manager is a Media Manager Library, or module.
This module takes commands from RMAN and reworks them to be compatible to the
Media Manager. Generally speaking, you cannot use RMAN to backup to tape without a
Media Manager Library or module.
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The trick here is, if your Media Manager vendor does not offer a Media Manager Library
for RMAN, then you cannot use RMAN to do the backups. All of the vendors I listed at
the start of this section provide Media Manager Libraries for RMAN, and there are many
more. Just ask your Media Manager vendor about RMAN support. You could try asking
Oracle, but that would be a backwards approach: Media Managers can be million dollar
corporate investments, and you should not pick the first one to support RMAN.
Tip: start by looking at the tape library systems your organization already has in place,
and then ask the resource vendor about a media manager for Oracle RMAN.
One thing to keep in mind when using RMAN with a 3rd party Media Manager is you will
need to disable or ignore some of the Media Managers features. Take retention policies
for example. You should define a retention policy (i.e., recovery window) in RMAN,
and disable or unset the retention policy in your Media Manager.
Oracle Secure Backup is discussed elsewhere in this book, so I wont go into too much
detail here. However, I do want to point out a few things about Oracle Secure Backup: it
is only available with Oracle 10.2 and higher, and in my opinion it does share or integrate
well with corporate media managers like TSM. That is, Oracle wants you to carve out a
set of resources to be dedicated to Oracle Secure Backup. Some organizations are fine
with that, while other organizations require database backups utilize existing
infrastructure.

Licensing Issues for Oracle RMAN

RMAN is free and bundled with the Oracle Server license. The question I often hear is,
do I need another license for Oracle to create a RMAN Recovery Catalog Database?
The answer is no, as long as you have licenses for the Oracle running your target
databases you are licensed to create and run a RMAN repository at no additional cost.
The Oracle licensing documentation states you can create one repository (i.e., catalog
database) at no additional cost. The database may hold your RMAN and Grid Control
repositories only, and not for application data. It need not be on the same server as your
target databases.
There are some advertised features of RMAN that are not freebies, and some features are
not available to customers using the Standard or Standard ONE editions of Oracle. For
example, RMAN Backup Encryption requires an expensive license for the Oracle
Advanced Security Option (ASO), which itself requires the Oracle Enterprise Edition.
Tip: there is a bug in Oracles documentation that states ASO is required to use RMAN
compressed backups; ASO is not required to use either of RMANs compression
techniques.

Implementing RMAN
Implementing RMAN is a process that consists of the following general tasks:
Define Your RMAN Infrastructure
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Install The RMAN Software

Create an RMAN Recovery Catalog Database
Create The Recovery Catalog In The Repository17
Register Each Target Database With RMAN
Test Backups and Recovery
Each of these are tasks is addressed below as separate sections.

Define Your RMAN Infrastructure

Before you begin the process of setting up RMAN in your customers environment, there
are a number of planning issues to be addressed:
Will you use a Recovery Catalog Database or the target databases control file to
store the RMAN repository? Do you understand the differences between using
one or the other? The rest of the questions assume you will create a Recovery
Catalog Database.
Which server will host the RMAN Recovery Catalog Database? I recommend
against storing the RMAN Recovery Catalog Database on the same physical
server as any of your target databases, and if possible the RMAN database should
be stored in a different room or building.
Which tablespaces and catalogs do you need in the Recovery Catalog database,
and how big should the tablespaces be?
What will be the name of your RMAN Recovery Catalog Database?
What will be the name and password of your RMAN user account in the
Recovery Catalog database?
How will you provide a highly available RMAN Recovery Catalog Database?
Will you use RAC, or Streams Replication, or Data Guard? What about 3rd party
solutions like Veritas HA.
Will your backups go to disk or tape? If disk, will it be local disk on each
database server, or shared storage? If backing up to tape, will you be using a 3rd
party media manager like the Tivoli Data Protection for Oracle module, or will
you be using Oracle Secure Backup? Will your RMAN backups go to the Flash
Recovery Area on disk, and get backed up from there to tape?
Will you be using the new Fast Incremental Backups feature in RMAN 10g,
which requires you to enable the Block Change Tracking feature and its
associated background processes and memory areas? Do you understand the
performance implementations of this, and have you compared these implications
to the expected efficiencies of your daily incremental backups?

17

When the Repository is put into a database, the database is then known as a Recovery Catalog Database.

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What are the implications of using RMAN with Oracle options like Database
Vault? If RMAN requires that you connect to the target database as a SYSDBA
user, and the SYSDBA privilege cannot backup data in a database protected by
Oracle Database Vault, then how will RMAN be used?
What are Oracles requirements for password files on your target databases? If
you will be launching the RMAN utility on the same server as the target database,
and using the same operating system user account that owns the Oracle Home
containing the RMAN utility, then no password is required. In all other cases a
password file is required.
Tip: to connect to a target database on UNIX the password file must exist in
ORACLE_HOME/dbs. However, on Windows you can put the password file anywhere
as long as you set the Registry key ORA_SID_PWFILE.
As you can see from the above listing, there are numerous decisions that need to be made
before you install any software or get started with RMAN. Carpenters have a saying,
Measure twice and cut once. In a nutshell it means to remind us that resolving
problems takes a lot more time than good planning.

Install the RMAN Software

Installing the Oracle 10g Database Server automatically installs the RMAN software into
your Oracle Home. No separate installation steps are required for RMAN. It is
interesting to note, there is no option to block RMAN from being installed to your server.
It will always be present.
RMAN is only found in Oracle 10g Database Server installations. It is not part of the
Oracle Client installation package. If you want to access RMAN from a client
workstation, I recommend you either use a terminal emulator program like PuTTY, or
you use Oracles Database Control web-based administration utility.
Tip: if you try to run RMAN on a computer that only has the Oracle Client software
installed, then you will get an error that RMAN could not find the file
$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/recovery.bsq.

Create an RMAN Recovery Catalog Database

The sections below detail the processes of planning and creating your Oracle RMAN
Recovery Catalog database. Note: if you will not be using a Recovery Catalog database
and will be using the target databases control files instead, then skip this information.
Tip: the Recovery Catalog Database is often called The Repository, because its the
repository for the recovery catalog. It is also referred to as The Catalog. Technically
that is a misnomer as the database is not the catalog, but rather the holder of the catalog.
Planning Comes First
One of the first things to decide is what to name your new database. Maybe you will call
it RMANCATD in the development environment, and RMANCATT and RMANCATP
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in your test and production environments. The name is up to you. If the database will be
used to support both RMAN and Grid Control, then maybe you want a generic name like
INFRA for infrastructure.
Another piece of easy house keeping is the name and password for the user ID that will
own the RMAN catalog. Most people set the name to RMAN, and the password should
be something easy to remember yet hard for others to guess. In many of my examples I
use RMAN/RMANPWD, but thats just an example and you should pick a real password.
After you create the RMAN user you must grant him the database role
RECOVERY_CATALOG_OWNER. This role includes system privileges that are
equivalent to the CONNECT and RESOURCE roles, so there is no need to grant these
additional roles to the RMAN user.
The Recovery Catalog Database does not need a lot of features. If you are familiar with
the Oracle catalog scripts, you just need catalog.sql and catproc.sql. You do not need to
install the JVM, XML DB, or the Oracle Text catalogs because RMAN wont use them.
The size of your new database might be anywhere from 2 GB to 8 GB, depending on how
many target databases you have and how long you want to keep backup and recovery
information. RMAN needs approximately 70 MB per target database per year. A
medium sized organization with 50 target databases would need a minimum of 3.5 GB.
You should also allocate 500 MB each for the tablespaces SYSTEM, SYSAUX, TEMP,
and UNDO. Now youre up to 5.5 GB. By the time you factor in your control files, redo
logs, archlogs, and administrative files, you might get up to the 8 10 GB range. And
that assumes the database will only be used for RMAN. If the database will also be used
as a Grid Control repository, then you need to add more space.
The memory requirements are low for an RMAN database, but as you know Oracle 10g
requires a lot of memory compared to previous releases. Your SGA will be somewhere
between 640 MB and 1024 MB, and your PGA Aggregate Target will be around 48 MB.
In a high availability environment, you should consider implementing Oracle RAC or
Streams Replication to your RMAN Recovery Catalog database. If you do nothing else
to protect the database, then plan to shut it down periodically to make cold backups that
can be taken off the server and put in a safe place. If you were to lose the Recovery
Catalog database and you did not have a backup, then you would lose all of the metadata
for all of your target databases, making all of their backups obsolete.
Run the DBCA To Create a New Database
The first step in the process of implementing RMAN is to create an RMAN Recovery
Catalog Database. This section provides step-by-step instructions for creating that
database.
The first step is to launch the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA.)
Windows users will find the DBCA under Start > Programs > OracleHomeX >
Configuration and Migration Tools > Database Configuration Assistant.

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When you launch the DBCA, the first screen to appear is a Welcome screen. Just click
Next to continue to the next screen.

When the following screen appears, make sure the option to Create a Database is
selected and then click Next.

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When the following screen appears, select Custom Database and click Next.

On the following screen, enter the name of your new database including any Oracle Net
domain information. My sqlnet.ora specifies a default domain of WORLD, so I set the
Global Database Name field to the concatenated values of my ORACLE_SID plus
.WORLD. As a result, the initialization parameter DB_NAME will be set to RMANREP
and SERVICE_NAMES will be set to RMANREP.WORLD.

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On the below screen, you should accept the option for monitoring the database with
Oracle Enterprise Manager (thats good practice for all of your databases) but you do not
want to configure daily backups of this database using RMAN, because RMAN cannot
backup itself. When ready to continue, click Next.

On the following screen, set your schema passwords and then click Next. To hurry the
process you can set all of them to the same password at this time, and worry about
assigning unique passwords to each schema later.

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On the following screen, select the type of storage system you will be using and then
click Next. Typically, you should select File System. In Oracle 10g, however, ASM is
also a possibility, and provides the benefits of a logical volume manager to take care of
striping and mirroring your database files. However, do not pick ASM unless you know
ASM has already been configured and tested on your system. Raw Devices should not be
picked unless you are using Oracle RAC, but even then if you are using a clustered file
system like Veritas you would pick File System and not RAW.

On the next screen, you are asked to specify the location where you want Oracle to create
all of the database files, and then click Next. Here I have selected OMF, but its up to
you. If you are unsure, stop for a moment to research the various options as they are
described in this book.

Where I have selected OMF, Oracle automatically sets the database area to
{ORACLE_BASE}\oradata. In my case, that is D:\Oracle\Oradata. When the

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database files are created, Oracle will automatically append the SID to the path, so my
OMF directory name is really D:\Oracle\Oradata\RMANREP.
Tip: if you have multiple mount points or disk partitions, so that the Oracle binaries are
on one and the Oracle database files are to be created on another, then the DBCA might
not work for you. The workaround is to put everything into a single locating using the
most simple OFA case, and then later you can move files to alternate locations.
One last thought before we continue: it is generally wise to multiplex control files and
redo log files. However, the Multiplex button on this particular screen only works if
you selected Oracle Managed Files (OMF). Dont worry if you did not select OMF,
because Oracle still gives you an opportunity to define multiplexed file locations a few
screens from now.
On the following screen we are asked two things: do we want to use a Flash Recovery
Area, and do we want to run the database in Archivelog Mode. In this example, I
accepted the default values. Actually, for an RMAN Recovery Catalog database you
might use neither. (A lot of Oracle DBAs run their catalog databases in
NOARCHIVELOG mode and take a cold backup of the catalog database once a week.)
When ready, click Next to continue with the database creation process.

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The following screen asks you which schemas or catalogs to install into your new
database. Because this is an RMAN Recovery Catalog database, and not an application
data repository, I have deselected every option except the OEM Repository, which is
needed later during the configuration of the OEM Database Control. RMAN simply does
not need all of those advanced features and add-on products.

On the above screen, notice the button for Standard Database Components. I
recommend you click on it, and deselect some standard components, because if you are
creating a RMAN repository you do not need to install JVM or Oracle Text. Those extra
components make patches and upgrades more difficult, and they add to your memory and
disk space requirements.
This next screen (step 10 of 12) has four tab pages. I will discuss each separately.

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The first tab page Memory is used to size the SGA and PGA. As you can see, I have
selected Custom and Automatic, so Oracle will use the numbers I provide to set
initialization parameters SGA_TARGET and PGA_AGGREGATE_TARGET. The
numbers I show here are typical for RMAN in small to medium offices, and should be
increased in offices that backup a great many databases with RMAN. Do not click Next
just yet, and click on the tab-page for Sizing.

On the Sizing tab-page, shown below, I have kept the default values.

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On the Character Set tab-page, shown below, I kept the default values. Please note the
default values maybe different for each platform: in my case it is a 32-bit Microsoft
Windows platform.

On the Connection Mode tab-page (shown below) I have accepted the default value of
Dedicated Server Mode, because RMAN requires dedicated connections.

When done reviewing the various tab pages described earlier, click Next to continue to
screen 11 of 12.

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Using the screen shown below, verify the list of tablespaces, datafiles, and redo log files.
All of the tablespaces will be set, by default, as locally managed with automatically sized
extents (i.e., not uniform size) and Automatic Segment Storage Management (ASSM).
Each datafile will be set to AUTOEXTEND by default. There will also be three redo log
groups with one member each, and all redo log files will be 10 MB. Perhaps the only
adjustment you need to make to any of this information is that you might want to add a
second file to each redo log group. (Recall earlier the discussion of Multiplexed Files).
When ready to continue, click Next.

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The last major screen is shown below. By default, the option to Create Database is
selected, but if you are not ready to create the database right now you can uncheck that
option and check the boxes for Save as Database Template and/or Generate Database
Creation Scripts. Regardless of whether I am creating the database or a template, I
always check the box for Generate Database Creation Scripts: reviewing the scripts at a
later time will help you understand how Oracle works.

A confirmation screen will appear. Click OK to continue.

The following progress monitor screen will appear. No action is required on your part.

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Please note you cannot use the DBCA on this computer to perform any other tasks until
the database has been created and this progress window has been closed.
When the database has been created, a summary screen will appear that starts with the
line Database creation complete. Simply click Exit to end the process.

Create the RMAN Schema

In the preceding section we created a new Oracle 10g database to store an RMAN
Repository. But, as you know, storing schema objects requires a user account and a
tablespace, which were not created in the earlier section. In this section we will create
that user and tablespace to hold the RMAN Repository schema objects. We will also
grant the necessary privileges and roles to that schema, as required by the RMAN
software.
The RMAN schema should only be created in the RMAN Recovery Catalog database.
Do not create the RMAN user in each of your target databases. That is, in the databases
to be backed up by RMAN you should not create the RMAN user. When you use the
RMAN software to backup a database, RMAN must connect to the target as SYSDBA.
Here is a complete set of commands that can be run to create the RMAN user in your
database. The users name need not be RMAN: it can be anything you like. Also, please
recall that we cannot create a user unless there are tablespaces in the database, so my
example begins with a command to create a tablespace named RMAN.
-- THESE EXAMPLES ASSUMES ORACLE MANAGED FILES (OMF).
-- ORACLE WILL GENERATE FILE NAMES AND USE DEFAULT SIZES.
-- ORACLE WILL ALSO USE LOCALLY MANAGED EXTENTS AND ASSM.
ALTER SYSTEM SET
DB_CREATE_FILE_DEST='C:\oracle\oradata\REMIDATA';
CREATE TABLESPACE RMAN;
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLESPACE TEMP;
CREATE USER RMAN
IDENTIFIED BY
RMANPWD
DEFAULT TABLESPACE
RMAN
TEMPORARY TABLESPACE TEMP
QUOTA UNLIMITED ON RMAN;
GRANT RECOVERY_CATALOG_OWNER TO RMAN;

Notice in the above example that I did not grant CONNECT or CREATE SESSION to
the user. Nor did I grant RESOURCE or other roles to the RMAN user. This is because
the role RECOVERY_CATALOG_OWNER contains the system privileges CREATE
SESSION and pretty much everything that the RESOURCE role contains.

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Create the RMAN Recovery Catalog

When you first create a RMAN Recovery Catalog database, it is a blank slate. It has no
recovery catalog, and does not really know what RMAN is. All you need to do is launch
the RMAN utility, connect to your new catalog database, and issue the command
CREATE CATALOG as shown here:
% rman
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> CREATE CATALOG;
RMAN> EXIT;

Notice in the above example we used the CONNECT CATALOG clause followed by a
connection string. It is always required to tell Oracle the type of database you are
connecting to, be it a catalog or target.

Register A Target Database

Before you can backup any databases using the new Recovery Catalog database, you
must register the target database in the catalog. In other words, you must catalog the
databases that you want to backup. This is simply done by connecting RMAN to both the
catalog and target databases, and then issuing the REGISTER DATABASE command as
shown below. You will repeat this process for each and every Oracle database you want
to backup. In other words, repeat these steps for each target database.
% rman
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET SYS/PWD@REMIDATA
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> REGISTER DATABASE;
RMAN> EXIT;

A comment about the above example. If you are running these RMAN commands on the
same server as the target database, then the targets connect string simply becomes a /.
In a later section are numerous examples of connecting to the RMAN Catalog and Target
Databases.
I want to introduce a few related commands here. They are the RESYNC CATALOG
and RESET DATABASE commands.
If you ever feel that your RMAN Recovery Catalog is out of sync with the actual files of
your target database, then launch RMAN and run the RESYNC CATALOG command as
follows:
% rman
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET SYS/PWD@REMIDATA
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> RESYNC CATALOG;
RMAN> EXIT;

If you open the target database with the RESETLOGS option, then you must launch
RMAN and reset the databases profile in your catalog by running the RESET
DATABASE command as follows:

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% rman
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET SYS/PWD@REMIDATA
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> RESET DATABASE;
RMAN> EXIT;

As noted elsewhere in this chapter, the CONNECT TARGET command rarely needs a
username, password, or SID. You should be running RMAN from the target databases
host computer, in which case you can connect using local operating system
authentication. I.e., CONNECT TARGET / is all you need for the TARGET connect
string. Also, there is no need to connect to the target and catalog databases on separate
lines as shown in many of my examples. You can do it all on one line like this:
% rman
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET / CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> RESYNC CATALOG;
RMAN> EXIT;

Configure Database Control as Your RMAN Interface

If you used the RMAN utility to establish a recovery catalog and register target
databases, then none of this information will be available in OEM Database Control by
default. To finish the setup so that Database Control can be used as a GUI for RMAN
you should complete the following steps:
Launch OEM Database Control and connect to your application database (i.e., a
target database). The connection should be as a SYSDBA user, such as SYS.
Navigate to the Maintenance page, and then click on the link for Recovery
Catalog Settings.
Click on the radio button for Use Recovery Catalog, and then click on the button
for Add Recovery Catalog. Note, you can leave the host credentials fields
blanks, because you have already created and populated the catalog database
using the RMAN utlility.
When prompted, enter the details about the name and location of the recovery
catalog database, and then click Next.
On the Confirmation screen click Finish.
When returned to the Recovery Catalog Settings screen, make sure the radio
button named Use Recovery Catalog is selected.
You should test the setup by clicking on the Resynchronize Catalog link. On the
Resynchronize Catalog page ensure the right catalog database is selected, and
then enter the name and password of the userID that owns the oracle software on
your catalog database server. (The userID is oracle on most UNIX servers, or
Administrator on most Windows severs.) When ready, click OK to continue. If
all goes well you will be returned to the same screen, and near the top will be the
message The recovery catalog has been resynchronized with the target
database.
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Click the Cancel button to return to the Maintenance page.

This completes the process of configuring OEM Database Control for use with your
Oracle RMAN recovery catalog. At this point you have the option of using the RMAN
command line utility or the Database Control GUI to perform backup and recovery
operations.

About Connections
RMAN requires one or more dedicated server connections when connecting to a target
database. You cannot connect RMAN to a target database using Oracle Shared Server
connections. If your target (i.e., application) database uses Oracle Shared Servers, then
you need to edit the Oracle Net files to force a dedicated server connection to be used by
administrative applications like RMAN.
Connections to a target database must be as a SYSDBA user. RMAN always appends
AS SYSDBA to all connection strings involving a target database; it does not do this
for connections to the catalog database. If you specifically include AS SYSDBA in
your connection string, then it will be there twice: once because you put it there and again
because RMAN always puts it there. This will cause the connection to fail.
Beware of password visibility. If you launch RMAN and connect to the catalog and/or
target all at once, then your password might be visible to all other users on the server.
That is, any user who does a ps ef command will see your entire command string
including any passwords in clear text. Therefore, you should first launch RMAN and
then connect to your catalog and target databases from within RMAN. This way your
passwords are hidden from other users on the server.
Tip: you can put connection commands in scripts that are invoked from within RMAN;
this mitigates the risk of anyone looking over your shoulder as you type a password.
Suppose you are already in the RMAN utility connected to a certain target database, and
you want to open another connection to the same target. You cannot do it. RMANs
CONNECT command can only be issued if you are not already connected to the specified
database. If you need to connect or reconnect to the same database you were already
connected to, then you must open a new RMAN session.

Basic RMAN Commands

In this section I describe and illustrate a large number of RMAN commands that are
typically used by the DBA. Frankly, there are so many RMAN commands that there
would be no way for me to describe and illustrate all of them here in this book. I
therefore stick to the basic and most frequently requested RMAN commands.
This section is divided into three sub-sections:
Administrative Commands
Backup Commands
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Restore Commands

Administrative Commands
Administrative commands are essentially those RMAN commands that are not used to
backup or restore databases. Administrative commands are used to connect RMAN to
the target and catalog databases, and to set RMAN default behaviors.
Connection Examples
Lets start with a classic example of connecting to a target database and the RMAN
Recovery Catalog Database (i.e., the Repository) at the same time. In this first example,
assume my target database is my corporate applications database and it is named
REMIDATA, and assume that my RMAN Recovery Catalog database is named
RMANREP. Also assume the recovery catalog within my RMAN Recovery Catalog
database is named RMAN and has password RMANPWD.
% setenv ORACLE_SID remidata
% rman target / catalog rman/rmanpwd@rmanrep

Notice in the above example I issued the operating system command rman followed by
two clauses to be interpreted by the rman utility. The first one begins with keyword
TARGET, and tells RMAN to connect to a target database; I did not specify a user name
or password because I am using operating system authentication, and I did not specify a
database name because it gets picked up from the environment variable ORACLE_SID.
The second clause begins with keyword CATALOG and connects to a catalog database
named RMANREP as user RMAN.
The earlier example of connecting to both a target and catalog at the same time only
works at the operating system command prompt. Once in RMAN, you need to connect to
each database separately.
Here are some additional examples of connecting to the RMAN Recovery Catalog
Database (i.e., the recovery catalog). In these examples we are not connecting to any
target databases. Notice, you can either connect at the same time you invoke RMAN, or
after you get in the RMAN utility.
-- Example 1: Launch RMAN and connect to catalog at same time.
% rman catalog rman/rmanpwd@rmanrep
-- Example 2: Launch RMAN then connect to catalog.
% rman
RMAN> connect catalog rman/rmanpwd@rmanrep

These next examples are typical of when you want to do a backup. In order to do a
backup, you need to launch RMAN and connect to both the Recovery Catalog Database
and a Target Database. You should generally launch the RMAN utility on the host where
your target database is running, and not on the server where the RMAN Recovery
Catalog Database is running, to ensure the correct Oracle Home binaries are used.
-- Example 1: Launch RMAN and connect to both Catalog and Target.
-- First, tell Oracle which target database to connect to.

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% setenv ORACLE_SID REMIDATA

-- Second, invoke RMAN and make connections. The / is used
-- to connect to the Target DB as SYS AS SYSDBA. However, do not
-- include AS SYSDBA or connection will fail; RMAN always
-- passes that in the background, so if you include it then
-- it goes twice and causes an error.
% rman TARGET / CATALOG rman/rmanpwd@rmanrep
-- Example 2: Invoke RMAN from the Repository DB server.
-- As before, we also connect to both the Target DB and
-- the Catalog DB all in one big command.
% rman TARGET sys/manager@REMIDATA CATALOG rman/rmanpwd@rmanrep
--- Example 3: Invoke RMAN utility on target db server, and then
-- after you get into RMAN connect to Target and Repository DBs.
% rman
RMAN> connect TARGET sys/manager@REMIDATA
RMAN> connect CATALOG rman/rmanpwd@rmanrep

Tip: you must connect to target databases as a SYSDBA user, and you should connect to
catalog databases as the RMAN repository owner, typically named RMAN. The
RMAN user is not a SYSDBA.
Notice in all of the above examples I did not specify the AS SYSDBA clause on any
connections to the target database, even though all such connections require SYSDBA
privileges. This is because RMAN knows all connections to a target database must be as
SYSDBA, so RMAN appends that information to the connection string in the
background. If you put AS SYSDBA in the connection string, and then RMAN
appended the same information in the background, then it would be in the connection
string twice and cause an error.
Configure the Default Device Type
All new RMAN installations are by default configured to send backups to disk. You can
tell Oracle whether to send backups to a disk device or a tape device using the RMAN
command CONFIGURE with the DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO clause. This only
applies to automatic channels, meaning if someone puts the backup commands in a RUN
{} block then the default you set here will be ignored. The two device types are DISK
and SBT, and the default is DISK.
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO SBT;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE SBT PARALLELISM 5;

The above example does two things. First, it overrides the default device type from
DISK to SBT. Second, it configures the new SBT device type to have a five degree of
parallelism, so that during backups Oracle will open five server processes to the device.
To check the current settings, use the command SHOW DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE. An
example of the command and typical results are shown here:
RMAN> show default device type;
RMAN configuration parameters are:
CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO DISK; # default

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To reset the default device type to DISK, you can either set it explicitly to DISK or set it
to CLEAR. When RMAN sees CLEAR, it clears the current value and resets it to the
default value which is DISK.
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO CLEAR;

Configure the Default Destination and File Name Format

Tip: I recommend that you use the FRA, and do not use the FORMAT clause as shown
below.
By default, all RMAN backups go to the Flash Recovery Area (FRA). If the FRA is not
defined, then RMAN uses a port-specific default location, which is generally the
directory $ORACLE_HOME/dbs.
To change the destination use the command CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE.
I discussed this same command earlier in the chapter. This time I include the FORMAT
clause, which allows you to use a plethora of RMAN format mask elements. For
example,
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT
'/u03/orabackups/%U';

The above example sets the destination to directory /u03/orabackups, and the %U
parameter tells RMAN to generate system-unique file names. There are way too many
format mask elements in RMAN to describe all of them here. For more information, see
the Oracle Database Backup and Recovery Reference, available on Oracles TechNet
web site.
To clear the custom settings and revert back to RMANs default settings, use the CLEAR
option as shown below. When the custom settings have been cleared, RMAN will revert
to using the FRA as the default destination for backups.
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK CLEAR;

Configure the Retention Period

The retention policy tells RMAN how long to keep the backup in good standing. This
can be done using two units of measure: number of days old, or number of backups taken.
These are known as RECOVERY WINDOW and REDUNDANCY respectively. You
can only set one type of retention policy; if you set it both ways, then RMAN replaces the
first one you define with the second one, so the last retention policy you define becomes
the only one enforced by RMAN.
Heres how retention policies work, in a nutshell. After the retention number has been
exceeded, RMAN marks the oldest backup as Obsolete so that it can be removed from the
system through another process. Nothing is actually deleted at this point.
The default retention policy is REDUNDANCY 1, which means the system will keep one
backup of each database file, and when a second backup of a file is completed the first
may be marked Obsolete. Ive never liked that policy. When a customer gives you
backup requirements, its typically in the form of we need to be able to go back N days.
Heres an example of setting the retention policy to 30 days.
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RMAN> CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO RECOVERY WINDOW OF 30 DAYS;

The retention policy does not tell RMAN when to delete old backups. Rather, it causes
backups to be marked Obsolete so you (and RMAN) can quickly identify and manually
delete them using the DELETE OBSOLETE command.
Configure Auto-Backup of the Control File
Anytime you backup an Oracle database, its a good idea to also backup the control file.
You can configure RMAN to do this automatically, so that you never forget. This is
configured using the CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE command as shown below.
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON;

Obviously, to turn off this feature you re-run the command replacing ON with OFF.
Deleting Backups
There are basically three cases where you want to delete a backup from the server, and
the backups metadata from the RMAN repository:
You simply want to delete the backups from RMAN. For example, to cleanup a
test environment.
You want to delete backups that are marked Expired because the backups are
no longer around but the metadata is still in RMAN.
You want to delete backups that are marked Obsolete because the backups are
outside your retention policy and no longer needed to satisfy recovery
requirements.
To simply delete all backup sets of a target database use the DELETE BACKUP
command. This command will remove all backup sets and all associated metadata from
the storage area as well as from the RMAN catalog.
RMAN> DELETE BACKUP;

There are optional clauses that can be appended to the end of the above command, such
as the OF clause to specify individual tablespaces or datafiles.
To delete image copy backups created by RMAN, use the command DELETE COPY
rather than DELETE BACKUP as shown earlier.
To delete obsolete backups, run the command DELETE OBSOLETE. RMAN will
remove backups that are no longer needed to satisfy recovery requirements, based largely
on the retention policy you defined with the administrative commands discussed in the
earlier section Configure the Retention Period.
RMAN> DELETE OBSOLETE;

To delete expired backups, you first need to prove to RMAN that the backups are
expired. Run the CROSSCHECK BACKUP command, which tells RMAN to verify
each backup listed in the recovery catalog still exists. Any backups listed in the
repository that are not found by the crosscheck are marked Expired. You can then run

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the DELETE EXPIRED BACKUP command, which will remove the metadata for all
expired backups from the recovery catalog.
RMAN> CROSSCHECK BACKUP;
RMAN> DELETE EXPIRED BACKUP;

Tip: RMAN will prompt for input when you issue a DELETE command; to prevent this
prompting use the NOPROMPT option. For example:
RMAN> DELETE NOPROMPT OBSOLETE;

Occassionally, RMAN will be unable to delete an obsolete backup due to an I/O problem.
To get around this situation use the FORCE option as shown here:
RMAN> DELETE FORCE NOPROMPT OBSOLETE;

Deleting Expired Backups and Archlogs

Catalog entries are considered expired when they no longer exist physically. For
example, a backup should be marked expired in the RMAN recovery catalog if the
backup was deleted from storage.
After a while your RMAN recovery catalog might get out of sync with reality, and you
will need to do some housekeeping. RMAN provides a CROSSCHECK commands that
you can use to find any backups or archlogs that are still listed in the recovery catalog but
not present in the FRA or other backup destination. The commands look like this:
RMAN> CROSSCHECK ARCHIVELOG ALL;
RMAN> CROSSCHECK BACKUP;

Any archlogs and backups not found will be marked EXPIRED in the RMAN catalog.
The next step is to delete the expired items from disk using the RMAN command
DELETE EXPIRED followed by the type of file, as shown here:
RMAN> DELETE EXPIRED ARCHIVELOG ALL;
RMAN> DELETE EXPIRED BACKUP;

Show the Current Settings

To see the current settings use the SHOW command. Typically, you will use the ALL
option as shown here:
RMAN> SHOW ALL;

The SHOW command has a dozen options. Here are a few, which are rather selfexplanatory:
RMAN> SHOW BACKUP OPTIMIZATION;
RMAN> SHOW CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP;
RMAN> SHOW DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE;
RMAN> SHOW ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM;

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RMAN> SHOW EXCLUDE;

Resynchronize the Catalog

If you ever feel that your RMAN Recovery Catalog is out of sync with the actual files of
your target database, then you should launch RMAN and run the RESYNC CATALOG
command as follows:
% rman
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET SYS/PWD@REMIDATA
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> RESYNC CATALOG;
RMAN> EXIT;

As with most RMAN commands related to target databases, you should run the RESYNC
CATALOG command on the same server as the target database. This ensures you are
using the right version of RMAN for that database.
% rman
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET /
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> RESYNC CATALOG;
RMAN> EXIT;

Reset the Database Profile

If you open the target database with the RESETLOGS option, then you must launch
RMAN and reset the databases profile in your catalog by running the RESET
DATABASE command as follows:
% rman
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET SYS/PWD@REMIDATA
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> RESET DATABASE;
RMAN> EXIT;

As noted elsewhere in this chapter, the CONNECT TARGET command rarely needs a
username, password, or SID. You should be running RMAN from the target databases
host computer, in which case you can connect using local operating system
authentication. All you need is, CONNECT TARGET /. Also, there is no need to
connect to the target and catalog databases on separate lines as shown in many of my
examples. In fact, you can do it all on one line, as long as you do it at the operating
system command prompt
In this next example I show how to connect to the target as a SYSDBA and to the catalog
database as RMAN, all at the same time. The trick is this command must be executed at
the operating system command prompt; once inside RMAN you cannot connect to both
databases in one command.
% rman CONNECT TARGET / CATALOG RMAN/RMANPWD@RMANREP
RMAN> RESET DATABASE;
RMAN> EXIT;

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Backup Commands
The basic RMAN commands for backing up an Oracle 10g databases are provided in the
below sections.
Understanding the Syntax
The syntax of the basic BACKUP command in RMAN is as follows:
RMAN> BACKUP [AS BACKUPSET | AS COPY] <THING>;

The <THING> clause at the end of the command is used to tell RMAN what to backup.
It can be keywords like DATABASE, TABLESPACE <name>, DATAFILE <number>,
or CURRENT CONTROLFILE. For example, the following are valid RMAN
commands:
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP TABLESPACE USERS;
RMAN> BACKUP DATAFILE 6;
RMAN> BACKUP CURRENT CONTROLFILE;

The above sample commands will backup the database, tablespace, datafile, or the
current control file to the active backup device type (either tape or disk.) Notice,
however, that my examples did not include the optional clause [AS BACKUPSET | AS
COPY]. I was able to omit both, because by default RMAN includes the clause AS
BACKUPSET, which is what you want for full and incremental backups.
Backing Up In NOARCHIVELOG Mode
Below are sample commands you can use to backup an Oracle 10g database that is
running in NOARCHIVELOG mode. Afterwards I explain why all of these commands
are necessary.
% rman target / catalog rman/himom@rmandb
RMAN> SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE;
RMAN> STARTUP MOUNT;
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE INCLUDE CURRENT CONTROLFILE;
RMAN> ALTER DATABASE OPEN;

If the database to be backed up is running in NOARCHIVELOG mode, then the database

must be shutdown cleanly prior to starting the backup. RMAN will not shutdown or
restart the database for you as part of the backup process, as do many of RMAN's
competing products, but you can manually issue the commands from within the RMAN
utility as shown above.
RMAN requires that the instance be started and the control files be mounted prior to
starting the backup. Therefore, before you backup a database in NOARCHIVELOG
mode you must do a STARTUP MOUNT command. This can be done within RMAN, so
you do not need to open a SQL*Plus session to do it.
The backup must include the current control file, or the backup will not be useful in a
restore operation. You have two options: prior to the backup you can configure
automatic backup of the controlfile using the command "CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE

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AUTOBACKUP ON", or you can manually grab the control file as part of a backup as
shown in the above example.
After the backup has completed you can open the database. Remember the instance is
already started, so you should not issue a STARTUP command. Rather, issue an ALTER
DATABASE OPEN command to switch from mount mode to fully open.
There are a few more points I would like to make about backing up an Oracle 10g
database running in NOARCHIVELOG mode:
The shutdown must be clean. This means you can use the SHUTDOWN
command, or SHUTDOWN with the following clauses: NORMAL,
IMMEDIATE, TRANSACTIONAL. The command SHUTDOWN ABORT is
not appropriate, and will prevent RMAN from getting a viable backup.
RMAN can only create full backups of a database that is in NOARCHIVELOG
mode. It cannot create incremental backups of a NOARCHIVELOG mode
database.
Do not attempt to start or open the database while the backup is running. This
will invalidate the backup, and you will have to create a completely new backup.
Omitting or Skipping Objects During Backups
RMAN allows you to easily skip tablespaces that are offline or read only. For example,
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE SKIP READONLY SKIP OFFLINE;

You can also tell RMAN to skip the whole database, if its inaccessible when RMAN
runs, by inserting the clause SKIP INACCESSIBLE between the usual words BACKUP
and DATABASE. For example:
RMAN> BACKUP SKIP INACCESSIBLE DATABASE;

The above command is not how you would normally tell Oracle to skip a tablespace or
datafile. That command is just to be used to tell RMAN to skip something that isnt there
to be backed up. If you want to tell RMAN to skip something that is on-line and ready
for backups, use CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE <NAME>. For
example:
RMAN>
RMAN>
RMAN>
RMAN>

CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE USER_SANDBOX;

CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE USER_PLAYPEN;
BACKUP DATABASE;
CONFIGURE EXCLUDE CLEAR;

In the above example, I tell RMAN to always exclude a certain tablespace from backups.
Then I run a backup, and tell RMAN to no longer exclude any tablespaces.
To Backup or Copy, That is the Question
If you do not specify AS BACKUPSET or AS COPY, then RMAN defaults to AS
BACKUPSET. In other words, Oracle always backs up files to backup sets, unless you
specifically request it to use image copies with the AS COPY option. You can use the
CONFIGURE command to change the default behavior to AS COPY.

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RMAN> CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK BACKUP TYPE TO BACKUPSET;

or
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK BACKUP TYPE TO COPY;

If your BACKUP command specifies the AS COPY clause, as shown below, then
RMAN will create an image copy of the object.
RMAN> BACKUP AS COPY DATABASE;

Oracle RMAN image copies are exact copies of the datafiles. They contain all of the
blocks, whether the blocks have been used or not. RMAN creates image copies while the
database is open and users are active, and the database need not be put into any special
mode. It is interesting to note that Oracle cannot write image copies directly to tape due
to fuzzy reads: after RMAN creates the image file it must update the image with any
blocks that have changed during the copy, as well as the final SCN, but if the image was
written to tape it would not be available for this final updating of blocks and SCN
information.
Note: you cannot set the max sizes of sets and pieces when backing up AS COPY,
because image copies do not break files into sets or pieces.
If you specify the AS BACKUPSET option, which you generally do not need to do since
its the default, then RMAN will backup the object using an RMAN backupset that can
be written on disk or tape. The AS BACKUPSET option is the default, so the following
commands are equivalent:
RMAN> BACKUP AS BACKUPSET DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE;

A backupset is the basic unit of storage. It holds 1 to 4 datafiles, or 1 to 16 archlogs, and

otherwise the size is unlimited by default. A backupset has 1 or more pieces. The
number of pieces Oracle uses depends on the max size of a piece. If you are backing up
to a backupset, then you can use the CONFIGURE command to set the max size of the
set and pieces:
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK MAXSETSIZE 1G
MAXPIECESIZE 20M;

Backing Up and Copying Image Copies

If you have already used RMAN to create image copies of files, then you can backup
those image copies to a new backupset or image copy using the following RMAN
command syntax:
RMAN> BACKUP [AS BACKUPSET | AS COPY] COPY OF <THING>;

As noted earlier, the <THING> clause tells RMAN what to backup, and it can be
keywords like DATABASE, TABLESPACE <name>, or DATAFILE <number>. Earlier
I also gave examples of how to use those various keywords for the AS BACKUPSET
clause. Lets look at the same keywords now with the COPY OF clause. For example,
the following are valid RMAN commands that can be used to backup an existing image
copy of the specified thing:
RMAN> BACKUP COPY OF DATABASE;

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RMAN> BACKUP AS COPY COPY OF TABLESPACE USERS;

RMAN> BACKUP AS BACKUPSET COPY OF DATAFILE 6;

Tip: in the above examples notice one of them has COPY COPY. This is correct. The
first COPY tells RMAN to create an image copy vice backupset. The second COPY tells
RMAN to backup the existing copy, not the live tablespace.
You cannot use the BACKUP COPY OF command syntax to backup the copy of a
control file. Instead, you must use the BACKUP CONTROLFILECOPY [ALL]
command.
RMAN> BACKUP CONTROLFILECOPY ALL;
RMAN> BACKUP CONTROLFILECOPY LIKE '%control_01%';
RMAN> BACKUP CONTROLFILECOPY
'c:\oracle\flash_recovery_area\ORCL_control.cpy';

Keep in mind that the BACKUP CONTROLFILECOPY command is used to backup a

copy of a control file, and not an active or current control file in use by the database.
Therefore, if you want to use this command then you must specify the name of the
RMAN backup file that the control file was copied to. For example, use these two
commands together:
RMAN> BACKUP AS COPY CURRENT CONTROLFILE TO
'c:\oracle\flash_area\ORCL_control.cpy';
RMAN> BACKUP CONTROLFILECOPY
'c:\oracle\flash_area\ORCL_control.cpy';

Backing Up Archlogs
There are a number of ways to backup the archived redo log files. Generally, you want to
backup the archlogs at the same time you backup the database. The trick is to backup the
current redo information, too. To get that information you need to force a log switch, so
that it gets archived prior to the backup running. RMAN is smart enough to do all of that
for you, with the PLUS ARCHIVELOG clause as shown here:
BACKUP DATABASE PLUS ARCHIVELOG;

The above command tells RMAN to do the following:

Issue an ALTER SYSTEM ARCHIVE LOG CURRENT command, to ensure the
active redo is archived and ready for backup.
Runs the BACKUP ARCHIVELOG ALL command.
Backs up the database files.
Issue a second ALTER SYSTEM ARCHIVE LOG CURRENT command, to
ensure the active redo is archived and ready for backup.
Backs up all archlogs that have not yet been backed up.
You can tell Oracle to delete the archlogs after a successful backup by using the clause
DELETE [ALL] INPUT. As you know the ALL keyword in that clause tells Oracle to
delete all copies of archlogs from all Archiver destinations. However, one strange thing
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is, RMAN will not let you specify ALL in terms of Archiver destinations to be backed
up. For example, consider these commands and notice which are OK and which are not:
-- THIS COMMAND WORKS.
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE PLUS ARCHIVELOG DELETE ALL INPUT;
-- THIS COMMAND FAILS.
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE PLUS ARCHIVELOG ALL DELETE ALL INPUT;
-- THIS COMMAND WORKS.
RMAN> BACKUP ARCHIVELOG ALL DELETE ALL INPUT;

There is actually a very good reason why you cannot specify ARCHIVELOG ALL
within the BACKUP DATABASE command. Whenever RMAN sees the PLUS
ARCHIVELOG clause it is hard-coded to backup one good copy of each archlog using
all available destinations, so its already backing up all archlogs. However, if you are not
backing up the whole database and just using the BACKUP ARCHIVELOG command
then the ALL keyword is allowed as discussed later.
The clause PLUS ARCHIVELOG DELETE ALL INPUT tells Oracle to backup one of
each archlog and delete all copies of each archlog. This puts you at risk, because you
would be down to just one copy of each archlog needed for recovery. I recommend you
omit the word ALL, which gives you the clause PLUS ARCHIVELOG DELETE
INPUT: this tells Oracle to backup the first copy of each archlog and then delete only the
copy that was backed up. If you are multiplexing archlogs to two locations, then the
second copy of each archlog will only get picked up by the next backup and then it will
be deleted. If you multiplex to three destinations, then it takes three backups to delete all
copies of each archlog. For example: backup N archives and then deletes the first copy
of each file generated after backup N-1 and the second copy of each file generated
between backups N-2 and N-1, and it also gets the third copy of each file generated
between backups N-2 and N-3.
Sometimes you need to backup just the archived redo logs, without the rest of the
database. This might be due to your archlog destination filling up in the middle of the
day, or maybe you have scheduled a cron job to run every few hours to prevent the
destination from filling up. In any case, the command to backup just the archlogs looks
like this:
RMAN> BACKUP ARCHIVELOG ALL DELETE INPUT;

The above command backs up the first good copy of each archlog, not every copy of it.
The optional DELETE ALL INPUT clause tells RMAN to remove all copies of each
archlog after backing up just one copy of it. That is, a given archlog is deleted from all
Archiver destinations after a minimum of one good copy has been backed up. If you
used DELETE INPUT without ALL, then RMAN only deletes the one copy of the
archlog that it backed up, leaving the other copies on the system for processing by the
next backup command. This process was detailed earlier.
Tip: the word "ALL" in BACKUP ARCHIVELOG ALL does not mean to backup all
archlogs on the server right now. In this context ALL tells RMAN to backup one copy of
each archlog now, and pickup the other copies later. If your database writes archlogs to
two destinations, for example, then RMAN backs up all archlogs in the first destination
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and only uses the second destination when a file in the first destination cannot be used.
Then, during your next backup, RMAN will pickup the files in the second destination
because RMAN knows those files have never been backed up. Alternatively, you can
replace the keyword ALL with LIKE and specify a pattern or range of archlogs.
Suppose your archiver is set to write all archlogs to multiple destinations, and after each
file is backed up you want to delete all copies of the file. The solution is to use the
DELETE ALL INPUT clause. For example.
RMAN> BACKUP ARCHIVELOG ALL DELETE ALL INPUT;

What the above command does is backup one copy of every archived redo log file,
regardless of how many multiplexed destinations you are using, and then delete all copies
from all destinations. The command only deletes files that were backed up.
Many DBAs strongly believe in keeping two copies of each archlog file, so consider what
would happen to archlogs if you ran the above BACKUP command daily. The command
says to backup one copy and delete both copies. When the backup completes you would
have one copy of each archlog in your FRA (or other backup destination) but you would
no longer have redundancy. You would have a possible single point of failure. You
might therefore wish to backup archlogs every day and only delete the input files every
other day, or something like that. The BACKUP ARCHIVELOG command has various
parameters that you might find useful in constructing a bullet proof solution.
When you issue a command to backup archlogs, Oracle knows what archlogs have been
generated and need to be backed up. But, what happens if one or more of those archlogs
were deleted from the system. By default RMAN will error-out. In this case you must
tell RMAN to skip all archlogs that are missing with the SKIP INACCESSIBLE clause.
For example:
RMAN> BACKUP ARCHIVELOG ALL DELETE ALL INPUT SKIP INACCESSIBLE;

If you need to use the SKIP INACCESSIBLE clause, then odds are you also need to run
the CROSSCHECK command. After the crosscheck completes Oracle will know which
archlogs are no longer available for backups, and you can go back to using BACKUP
without the SKIP INACCESSIBLE clause. For example,
RMAN> BACKUP ARCHIVELOG ALL DELETE ALL INPUT SKIP INACCESSIBLE;
-- You get a lot of warnings about archlogs that dont exist.
RMAN> CROSSCHECK ARCHIVELOG ALL;
RMAN> BACKUP ARCHIVELOG;

Backing Up The Flash Recovery Area

As noted earlier the Flash Recovery Area (FRA) is a disk-based cache of recovery files.
Included in those recovery files are backups. To be safe-and-sound, those backups and
all other recovery files need to be backed up to someplace off the server, such as tape.
Also, Oracle is unable to maintain free space in the FRA unless you use RMAN to
backup the FRA to a SBT device. It is therefore very important to know how to backup
the FRA.
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Before you can backup the FRA you must configure a SBT device. RMAN will only
backup the FRA to a SBT device. I dont cover SBT in detail here because it goes
outside the scope of this book, and most of you working in development labs or home
computers wont have access to a true SBT device anyways. So, how to finish setting up
RMAN to think it has a SBT device? Oracle provides a driver named oracle.disksbt.
Configuring RMAN to use it is truly simple, as shown here:
RMAN> configure channel device type 'SBT_TAPE' parms
'SBT_LIBRARY=oracle.disksbt,ENV=(BACKUP_DIR=/disk3)';

Tip: the oracle.disksbt driver is not for use on production systems, and you are
responsible for configuring a true SBT device such as Oracle Secure Backup or Tivoli
Data Protection for Oracle.
The second part of backing of the FRA is knowing the correct RMAN command. There
are two RMAN commands for backing up the FRA and you can use either one. Actually,
one is a synonym for the other. Both commands are shown here, and you can use either
one to backup the FRA.
RMAN> BACKUP DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST;
or
RMAN> BACKUP RECOVERY AREA;

If the FRA backup fails with ORA-19625 because of an allegedly missing archlog, then
run the CROSSCHECK and DELETE EXPIRED commands to get RMAN to recognize
the missing archlog is supposed to be missing and stop complaining about it.
Tip: sometimes when connected to a recovery catalog the CROSSCHECK command will
not find archlogs that are expired; run RMAN connected to the target database but NOT
connected to the recovery catalog and then run the command CROSSCHECK
ARCHIVELOG FROM SCN NNN UNTIL SCN MMM where NNN is the SCN of the
archlog that RMAN says is missing in action, and MMM is any higher number.
Afterwards, reconnect to the recovery catalog and run your backups as usual.
Now that you have used RMAN to backup the FRA to a SBT device, you are free to
delete some of the backups and archlogs from the FRA and make room for future
backups and archlogs. To remove obsolete backups from the FRA issue the following
command within the RMAN utility:
RMAN> DELETE FORCE NOPROMPT OBSOLETE;

If the Flash Recovery Area (FRA) is full even after you have deleted obsolete and
expired backups and archlog files, then you either need more disk space or you can work
some tricks. This trick is not really recommended for production systems, but for a test
you can simply reset your retention policy to a small value like 1 DAYS and then rerun your command to delete obsolete backups. This process will force RMAN to update
the catalog with a new value for the amount of free space in the FRA. For example, you
might run through the following series of commands:
RMAN> CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO RECOVERY WINDOW OF 1 DAYS;
RMAN> DELETE OBSOLETE;
RMAN> CROSSCHECK ARCHIVELOG ALL;

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RMAN> DELETE EXPIRED ARCHIVELOG ALL;

RMAN> CROSSCHECK BACKUP;
RMAN> DELETE EXPIRED BACKUP;

Space issues might remain after all of the above commands have been run. RMAN is
responsible for monitoring and managing the space pressure issues in the FRA, but it
wont do these things at the end of each backup, and waits for obsolete and expired
objects to be removed via the RMAN interface. The next time you run a backup and
RMAN thinks there is insufficient space RMAN will defer the backup and then run a job
to look at the FRA and deal with space issues. RMAN will then update itself to reflect
the new reality of space issues, and should complete the original backup request. If not,
just re-run the backup command so RMAN cycles through this two-step process again.
Tip: when trying to resolve space issues do not manually delete flashback log files (.flb)
as this might cause the RVWR process to abort, and your instance to crash. The .flb files
are auto-deleted by the RVWR process when space pressure occurs, but because these
files are tied to archlogs RVWR will not delete any .flb files that correspond to archlogs
needed for recovery. To force RVWR to delete the .flb files you must take a databasewide outage to turn off Oracle Flashback Database and then turn it on again.
Alternatively, you can try adjusting initialization parameter
DB_FLASHBACK_RETENTION_TARGET to a lower number.
For more information, please see the section on Backing Up The Flash Recovery Area
in this chapter.
Backing Up When Space Is Limited
If a backup fails because there is insufficient space in the recovery area (i.e., the FRA)
then try backing up the recovery area using the command BACKUP RECOVERY AREA
and then deleting obsolete files by running the command DELETE OBSOLETE. There
might also be expired backups in the recovery catalog, thus making RMAN think space is
unavailable. You can run the commands CROSSCHECK BACKUP followed by
DELETE EXPIRED BACKUP. All of these commands are described in this chapter.
The DELETE OBSOLETE command only deletes backups that are outside your default
retention policy, unless you specify an alternate retention policy as part of the delete
command. For example:
DELETE OBSOLETE RECOVERY WINDOW OF 5 DAYS;

If a full backup of archlog files fails because there is insufficient space in the recovery
area (i.e., the FRA) then try a series of partial backups. When the first attempt is run it
will list all of the archlogs to be backed up, and one of the displayed column shows
sequence=nnn. This data corresponds to the log sequence number. You can tell
RMAN to only backup archlogs up to and including a certain log sequence number. For
example:
BACKUP ARCHIVELOG UNTIL LOGSEQ 265 DELETE INPUT;

After the backup has completed, you can backup the recovery area to make room for
more archlogs. Repeat this procedure as needed.

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Using Tags to Name Backups

Backups can be labeled using the TAG clause. This makes it easy to restore from a
particular backup. For example, suppose you are about to add new functionality to your
database like Oracle Streams Replication, and you want to make a backup before and
after Streams has been implemented:
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE TAG BKP_PRE_STREAMS_DFILES
2> PLUS ARCHIVELOG TAG BKP_PRE_STREAMS_ARCS;
<DO YOUR STREAMS SETUP>
<OOPS, YOU MESSED UP STREAMS START OVER>
RMAN> SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE;
RMAN> STARTUP MOUNT;
RMAN> RESTORE DATABASE FROM TAG = 'BKP_PRE_STREAMS';
RMAN> RECOVER DATABASE <PUT UNTIL CLAUSE HERE>;
<DO YOUR STREAMS SETUP>
RMAN> ALTER DATABASE OPEN;
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE TAG BKP_POST_STREAMS_DFILES
2> PLUS ARCHIVELOG TAG BKP_POST_STREAMS_ARCS;

When you backup the data files and archlogs in the same command, RMAN applies
separate tags to the two types of files. In the earlier example, notice that immediately
after telling RMAN to backup the database I specified a tag to be applied to the data files.
Then, immediately after telling RMAN to also backup the archlogs I specified a second
tag. If I were to omit either tag, then Oracle would substitute a system generated tag in
its place. Therefore, if you plan to use tags you must remember to use then in all
appropriate places.
To see what Oracle created you might want to run the following command. This will list
all of the backup sets, with your most recent backup listed last. The tag will be displayed
in the right-hand of the output.
RMAN> LIST BACKUPSET SUMMARY;

In addition to backup files having the tags you specified during backup, you might notice
additional backup files with a system generated tags: these file contains the control file
and SPFILE backups.

Using Backup Commands to Scan for File Corruption

RMAN has a BACKUP VALIDATE command that can be used to validate your database
files. No backup will be generated. Instead, RMAN will validate the names and
locations of the files for logical corruption issues, and will check the files at the blocklevel for physical corruption. In the first example shown below, just the database files
are checked, while in the second example the database files and archived redo logs in all
Archiver destinations are also validated.
RMAN> BACKUP VALIDATE DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP VALIDATE DATABASE ARCHIVELOG ALL;

If any corruptions are found, RMAN writes the information to the target databases data
dictionary where it can be reviewed using the view
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V$DATABASE_BLOCK_CORRUPTION. If physical block corruption is encountered,

you can use RMAN to rectify the situation with the RMAN command named
BLOCKRECOVERY CORRUPTION LIST.
By default, the BACKUP VALIDATE DATABASE command only checks for physical
corruption, but you can always force it to check for logical corruption using the
BACKUP VALIDATE CHECK LOGICAL DATABASE command. In the first example
shown below, just the database files are checked, while in the second example the
database files and archived redo logs in all Archiver destinations are also validated.
RMAN> BACKUP VALIDATE CHECK LOGICAL DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP VALIDATE CHECK LOGICAL DATABASE ARCHIVELOG ALL;

Restore and Recovery Commands

This section describes the general process of using RMAN to restore and recover a
database, whole and in part. Several of the more commonly used commands are
illustrated and explained.
The process has two parts: restore needed files from a backup, and then recover the
database to the desired point. RMAN supports this two-step process with two
commands: RESTORE and RECOVER. With each of these two commands you can
work on individual files, lists of files, one or more tablespaces, or the whole database.
Mind RMAN has been in existence for some time now, and has become rather robust.
The Restore Process and Command Overview
The RESTORE command can be used to restore backup sets consisting of full backups
and level 0 incremental backups, and it can be used to restore image copies of datafiles,
control files, and archlogs. The RESTORE command also has options to simulate a
restore. If you use the VALIDATE clause, then RMAN will tell you which backups are
needed to do the restore. If you use the VALIDATE clause, then RMAN will validate
that the necessary backups are still available. Without any such clauses, RMAN will
actually restore the files.
When restoring files, you need to know how and when Oracle overwrites existing files.
On restore RMAN scans the header block of the current file: if the header is corrupt then
RMAN restores overtop of the corrupted file; if the header is not corrupt then RMAN
will not restore over the file unless you specify the FORCE option. Please note, RMAN
only scans the header for corruption, and not the payload or data blocks. Alternatively, if
you want to restore the files to a new name or location you can use the SET NEWNAME
command.
RMAN allows you to manually restore archlogs. However, this is generally not
something you will do. When you issue a RECOVER command, RMAN will figure out
which archlogs need to be restored and do the restore for you automatically. That said,
you still need to understand where RMAN restores archlogs to, and how it handles
overwrites and space issues. If any of your LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_N parameters are
set explicitly or implicitly to the value DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST, then RMAN will
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by default restore all archlogs to the DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST. Otherwise, RMAN

will by default restore all archlogs to your LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_1 location. If you
dont want these default behaviors, then you need to issue the command SET
ARCHIVELOG DESTINATION prior to running the RECOVER command.
The Recovery Process and Command Overview
The RECOVER command performs either complete or point-in-time media recovery
using available datafiles and archlogs. By available we typically mean files you have
restored such as by using the RESTORE command.
By default RMAN will perform complete recoveries. That is, if you issue the command
RECOVER DATABASE then it will try to perform a complete recovery of the database.
If you need to perform an incomplete recovery then you need to specify the UNTIL
clause, such as RECOVER DATABASE UNTIL SEQUENCE 578.
If you are performing complete recovery, then Oracle may use either a full backup or an
incremental backup. In both cases it can roll forward using archlogs. If a full backup is
restored, then RMAN will roll forward using available archlogs. If an incremental
backup is restored, then RMAN will apply the incremental backup first and then apply
the archlogs; RMAN wont skip the incremental backup and simply roll the database
forward using nothing but archlogs, because that would be slower and because archlogs
dont contain objects created with the NOLOGGING option.
During recovery operations RMAN looks for the required archlogs on disk, and if they
are not present RMAN automatically restores them from backups. Restoring archlogs
may present a space issue. Fortunately, RMAN is very smart about this. By default,
RMAN automatically deletes any archlogs restored to the Flash Recovery Area (or
DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST) as soon as they are applied to the database; RMAN will
not delete archlogs that were already on disk and not restored. Alternatively, you can
specify the DELETE ARCHIVELOG MAXSIZE clause in the RECOVER command, to
tell RMAN the maximum amount of disk space to use for holding the restored archlogs.
For example:
RMAN> RECOVER DATABASE DELETE ARCHIVELOG MAXSIZE 5G;

The above RECOVER DATABASE command will restore archlogs from backups as
necessary, and will purge the restored archlogs automatically to maintain a maximum
storage requirement of 5 GB. The auto-deletion of archlogs is the default when using the
Flash Recovery Area (FRA), but not when using a non-FRA location.
Typical Restore and Recover Commands
To restore the whole database, make sure the database is shutdown and then use the
RESTORE DATABASE command. RMAN will not restore the control file or SPFILE,
you have to do that using separate commands like RESTORE CONTROLFILE and
RESTORE SPFILE. RMAN will not restore offline or read-only datafiles; if you specify
the CHECK READONLY clause then RMAN will restore read-only datafiles that have
header block corruption only, and will not restore read-only files with other corruption or
any offline datafiles. To restore offline files you must restore them at the tablespace or
datafile level, but not using the RESTORE DATABASE command.
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Heres an example of restoring the target database:

RMAN> RESTORE DATABASE CHECK READONLY;

If you have lost all copies of your control file, then you need to use the RESTORE
CONTROLFILE command because using the RESTORE DATABASE command does
not restore control files. The command is quite simple as shown here:
RMAN> RESTORE CONTROLFILE;

If you have lost your SPFILE and do not have a backup PFILE, then you need to use the
RESTORE SPFILE command. As noted earlier, the RESTORE DATABASE command
will never restore a SPFILE. Heres an example of using the RESTORE SPFILE
command:
RMAN> RESTORE SPFILE;

After restoring the database and optionally any other required files, you will want to
recover the database using the RECOVER DATABASE command. For example,
RMAN> RECOVER DATABASE;

To restore and recover just a tablespace, and not the whole database, make sure the
tablespace is offline and then use the RESTORE TABLESPACE command followed by
the RECOVER TABLESPACE command as shown here:
RMAN>
RMAN>
RMAN>
RMAN>

SQL "ALTER TABLESPACE FOO OFFLINE IMMEDIATE";

RESTORE TABLESPACE FOO;
RECOVER TABLESPACE FOO;
SQL "ALTER TABLESPACE FOO ONLINE";

With the RECOVER there are basically three major things you can recover: the
database, a comma-delimited list of tablespaces, and a comma-delimited list of datafiles.
Below are examples of these commands, but remember that the RECOVER command
should be used as part of a larger process that includes RESTORE and SQL commands as
we saw in previous examples.
RMAN> RECOVER DATABASE;
RMAN> RECOVER TABLEPACE TOOLS, USERS, APPS7;
RMAN> RECOVER DATAFILE '/u02/oradata/REMIDATA/tools.dbf';

To skip a tablespace during complete recovery operations, use the SKIP clause. RMAN
will take the tablespace offline and leave it offline, even after the recovery is complete
and the database has been opened.
RMAN> RECOVER DATABASE SKIP TABLESPACE FOO;

With incomplete recovery the SKIP clause cannot be used. Instead, you can use the
SKIP FOREVER clause. Please note this clause deletes files from your database.
RMAN will take the tablespace offline with the DROP option, and the associated
datafiles will be dropped later.

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Restoring Archlogs
When restoring archlogs you have four basic options: restore all of them; restore just the
ones created after a particular point; restore the ones created before a particular point, or
restore the ones created between two points. The points can be specified as a SCN, log
sequence number, or system time. Below are several examples to illustrate this concept.
To restore all archlogs:
RESTORE ARCHIVELOG ALL;

To restore all archlogs from a particular SCN until present:

RESTORE ARCHIVELOG FROM SCN=24010527;

To restore all archlogs before a particular SCN until present:

RESTORE ARCHIVELOG UNTIL SCN=24010527;

To restore all archlogs between two SCN:

RESTORE ARCHIVELOG BETWEEN SCN 24010527 AND 24010529;

As noted earlier, you dont need to specify SCN. You can specify SEQUENCE or TIME.
For example: to restore all archlogs between two dates:
RESTORE ARCHIVELOG BETWEEN TIME 'date string1' AND 'date
string2';

The date string can be anything that evaluates to a valid Oracle date/time. For example,
you could use the SYSDATE function as shown below to restore all archlogs created in
the past 2 days:
RESTORE ARCHIVELOG SINCE TIME 'SYSDATE-2';

Using Tags to Restore a Named Backup

Backups can be labeled using the TAG clause. This makes it easy to restore from a
particular backup.
Tip: if you forget the name of your backup, you can list backups using the RMAN
command LIST BACKUP SUMMARY as shown below; the output of the LIST
BACKUP SUMMARY command includes the TAG as the right-most column, and the
output is orded by date with backups listed from oldest to newest.
RMAN> LIST BACKUP SUMMARY;

For example, suppose you are about to add new functionality to your database like Oracle
Streams Replication, and you want to make a backup before and after Streams has been
implemented:
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE TAG BKP_PRE_STREAMS_DFILES
2> PLUS ARCHIVELOG TAG BKP_PRE_STREAMS_ARCS;
<DO YOUR STREAMS SETUP>
<OOPS, YOU MESSED UP STREAMS START OVER>
RMAN> SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE;
RMAN> STARTUP MOUNT;
RMAN> RESTORE DATABASE FROM TAG = 'BKP_PRE_STREAMS';

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RMAN> RECOVER DATABASE <PUT UNTIL CLAUSE HERE>;

<DO YOUR STREAMS SETUP>
RMAN> ALTER DATABASE OPEN;
RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE TAG BKP_POST_STREAMS_DFILES
2> PLUS ARCHIVELOG TAG BKP_POST_STREAMS_ARCS;

The above example includes two tag clauses per backup statement. As noted in the
discussion of backups, RMAN always applies a different tag to datafiles and archlogs, so
if you are going to use custom tags then you need to supply two custom values.
After you restore the tagged backup, recover the database until a point-in-time, SCN, or
log sequence. Follow the normal rules for recovering to a prior point-in-time. One
important note is, if you created any datafiles after the tagged backup was made, then you
will not be able to restore from the tagged backup as easily as shown in the above
example. You will need to perform recovery as outlined in Oracle Note 130724.1.

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