Oracle RMAN Best Practices

In our last post we discussed the top myths and benefits associated with Oracle RMAN. Now that you’re ready for (or already have reached) implementation, we’d like to share some best practices to follow.

1. Take regular backups and verify that they work. Use validate command of Oracle RMAN or restore them to a test environment periodically:
RMAN> RESTORE DATABASE VALIDATE;
RMAN> RESTORE ARCHIVELOG ALL VALIDATE;
RMAN> RECOVER DATABASE TEST

2. Automatically backup control file, it’s also recommended to set the format of autobackup file:
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE ‘SBT_TAPE’ TO ‘%F’;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO ‘%F’;

3. Turn on block checking to detect corrupt blocks in the database.
SQL>ALTER SYSTEM SET DB_BLOCK_CHECKING=TRUE SCOPE=BOTH;

4. Use the ‘check logical’ parameter to detect logical corruptions in data blocks:
RMAN> BACKUP CHECK LOGICAL DATABASE PLUS ARCHIVELOG DELETE INPUT;

5. Use compression for Oracle RMAN backups. Oracle backup compression usually improves backup and recovery time (unless your system has CPU bottlenecks) and reduces usage of storage:
RMAN> BACKUP AS COMPRESSED BACKUPSET DATABASE PLUS ARCHIVELOG;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK PARALLELISM 1 BACKUP TYPE TO COMPRESSED BACKUPSET;

Missed our post about common myths experienced? Click here.

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• Proactive Maintenance of Your Oracle Database
• Oracle Control File Recreation
• Boost Database Performance with a Comprehensive Health Check
• Top 3 Communication Skills for IT Support Providers