Oracle Database Backup and Recovery using Veritas Netbackup

Oracle Database Backup:

NetBackup integrates the database backup and recovery capabilities of the Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) with the backup and recovery management capabilities of NetBackup.

NetBackup for Oracle operation using the Oracle Intelligent Policy

The Oracle Intelligent Policy feature lets you create a policy that specifies one or more Oracle instances to be backed up. You manage instances in an instance repository available on the NetBackup Administration Console. The instance repository contains all discovered and manually created Oracle instances that reside in the NetBackup environment. Instance management lets you add, change, delete, and register instances with a set of credentials.

RMAN BACKUP NETBACKUP 8.1.2: http://senthil-it-infrastructure.blogspot.com/2020/02/oracle-rman-backup-using-netbackup-812.html

Create an Oracle Intelligent Policy, you can use the Policy Configuration Wizard or the Policies utility. The Policy Configuration Wizard is easier to use because it guides you through the setup process by automatically choosing the best values for most configurations. But the wizard does not present all policy configuration options (for example, calendar-based scheduling). After you create a policy, you can use the Policies utility to configure the options that are not part of the wizard.

Policy creation includes assigning instances to the policy. The Oracle Intelligent Policy does not require you to know how RMAN functions or how to use the templates and scripts. The feature is instance-based and not template-scripting based.

When you back up Oracle database instances, each resultant backup set contains at least one backup piece from the target database. You must give each backup piece a unique name. Several substitution variables are available to aid in generating unique names. The policy utility provides a set of default file name formats for the backup pieces. NetBackup considers the backup piece name as the file being backed up, so this name must be unique in the catalog.

To override any of the default file name formats, select Specify backup file name formats. You can change the formats for the various backup file names for data files, archived redo logs, the control file, and the Fast Recovery Area (FRA). Ensure that the format that is specified for all RMAN backup piece names ends with _%t to guarantee that each backup piece has a unique name in the catalog. NetBackup uses this timestamp as part of its search criteria for catalog images. Without this timestamp, performance may degrade as the NetBackup catalog grows.

For a backup, the following items apply:

• The rman command starts the requested operation on the databases.
• When the process requires media to store backup data, RMAN issues a backup request to start a user-directed backup.
• The NetBackup media server connects to NetBackup for Oracle on the client. NetBackup for Oracle on the client sends the database data to the NetBackup media server which saves the data to secondary storage. A restore operation works in essentially the same manner except that RMAN issues a restore request. Then NetBackup retrieves the data from secondary storage and sends it to NetBackup for Oracle on the client.
• RMAN supports parallel operations, so that a single rman command can start more than one backup, or restore on the NetBackup system.
• The status for an RMAN operation is stored in the RMAN catalog or in the database control file. This same status appears in the output of the RMAN command that is used to run the backup or restore. This status is the only status that a database administrator must check to verify that a backup or restore has been successful.
• You can see the RMAN script and RMAN output in the details of the controlling job (bphdb) in the Activity Monitor.
• NetBackup also logs status, but only for its own part of the operation. The database administrator cannot use the NetBackup status to determine whether rmanwas successful. Errors can occur in rman that do not affect NetBackup and are not recorded in its logs.

Oracle Intelligent Policies (OIP)

The Oracle Intelligent Policy (OIP) feature is a method of Oracle policy backup based on Oracle database instances. This method precludes the need to create templates and scripts for your Oracle policies. The OIP feature has the following elements:

• You can create a single policy to protect multiple Oracle database instances that are spread over multiple clients.
• A discovery service discovers Oracle database instances throughout the NetBackup environment. The service polls the clients every five minutes and sends the discovered instances to an instance repository available to you on the NetBackup Administration Console. You manage instances and instance groups through the NetBackup Administration Console or the nboraadm command.
• All instances that you want backed up must be registered with credentials. If multiple instances share the same credentials, you can create an instance group for the set of instances with common credentials.
• Multiple instance groups can be created for different sets of instances with different credentials. You can create a default instance group for newly discovered instances to be automatically added to the group, ensuring that new instances are protected.
• The database administrator can control all instances and instance group credentials using the nboraadm command on the NetBackup client, which provides improved security throughout the system.
• You are not required to know RMAN or to write and use templates and RMAN scripts. Instead, this feature automatically generates the scripts at run-time.
• The Job Details in the Activity Monitor lets you view the backup summary, database state, RMAN input, and RMAN output for the OIP. Also, the Activity Monitor includes a new Instances column that shows the instance that the associated policy has backed up.
• Enhanced error codes enable faster identification, troubleshooting, and correction of problems. You can easily restart a failed job.
• You no longer need to create an application backup schedule. You only need to create automatic backup schedules for the data movement, which simplifies how retention works on the backup pieces.
• You can manually back up any number of instances or all the instances.
• The OIP automatically selects parameter settings at run-time that enable optimal deduplication.
• You can create a new archived log schedule that backs up the archived redo logs within intervals of minutes.
• The Oracle Intelligent Policy can protect an Oracle database when the Oracle DBA places database backups in the share on a NetBackup appliance.
• The OIP can create and maintain a full set of data file copies in the share on a NetBackup appliance. The Accelerator option is used to update the data file copies using only the changed blocks since the last full backup.
• Oracle 12c has introduced container databases (CDB) and pluggable databases (PDB) and they can be protected using the OIP.

Veritas NetBackup 8.1.2 New Features and Installation on Linux: 

http://senthil-it-infrastructure.blogspot.com/2020/02/veritas-netbackup-812-installation-on.html 

Veritas NetBackup 8.1.2 NDMP Backup Configuration (NetApp ONTAP 9.7) http://senthil-it-infrastructure.blogspot.com/2020/02/netbackup-812-ndmp-backup-configuration.html

Step By Step Configuring Oracle DB Backup:

1. Discover or Add Oracle instance manually.

Provide the Authentication method either oracle or OS authentication.

2. Register the Oracle instance.

3. Create Oracle Intelligence Policy (OIP).

4. Adding Instances or Instance Groups.

5. Select the backup selection, like Whole database, table space, data files or FRA (Fast Recovery Area).

6. Add the oracle backup streams and redo log parameters.

7. Test the policy using manual backup and check in the Activity Monitor.

8. Once the backup is successful, then restore the DB from BAR client.

Select the policy type is oracle.

This will open a oracle restore and recovery  wizard.

Select the authentication.

Select the recovery options and parameters.

Select the recent backup image or PIT copy.

PIT recovery options.

Automatic scripts to stop and start the DB instance.

Recovery script.

Check with Activity MOnitor .

Successfully DB restored and recovered.

Using CLI , nboraadm command will list and manage the oracle instances.