RMAN Basics

RMAN is oracle's backup and recovery solution to protect files in the database.

RMAN parameters and descriptions:

1. Retention Policy

- Configuring a retention policy tells RMAN how long

you want to keep your backup information.

2. Backup Optimization

- If you turn on backup optimization and a backup fails half way through, RMAN picks

up where it left off when you restart the backup. If it is turned off, RMAN starts from the

beginning.

3. Default Device Type

- You can have RMAN back up files to disk or tape.

4. Control File Autobackup

- You can configure RMAN to take a backup of the control file and the spfile every time

a backup runs. Also, if the database is in archive log mode, it will take a backup of the

control file any time the database file structure changes such as renaming or adding a data

file.

5. Control File Autobackup Format

- This tells RMAN the name and location you would like control file auto backups to take

on.

6. Parallelism

- On a machine with many backup devices, such as tapes or disks, as well as multiple

CPU’s, you can set this parameter to use more resources in hopes of speeding up the

backup.

7. Data file Backup Copies

- This parameter will tell RMAN how many copies to make when backing up files. The

more you have the safer you are from losing a backup file.

8. Archive Log Backup Copies

- Similar to data file backup copies, but applies to archive logs.

9. MAXSETSIZE

- This can be used when backing up to tape to make sure that the backup files don’t span

multiple tapes. This way, losing one tape won’t nullify an entire backup. Typically, this is

left to unlimited when backing up to disk.

10. Encryption for Database

- Typically, the backup files created will contain the character strings of data that reside

in your data files. A clever hacker can extract this data and perhaps make sense out of it.

By turning this parameter on, all the data in the backup file will be garbled.

11. Encryption Algorithm

- You can choose the level of encryption in Oracle. The higher the encryption level, the

longer it can take to back up the database. Choices follow:

• AES128 AES 128-bit key

• AES192 AES 192-bit key

• AES256 AES 256-bit key

12. Snapshot Control File Name

- Tell RMAN where to put the control file and what to name it when a snapshot of the

control file is taken.