Backup and availability features for Oracle 10g R2 new features

Oracle's Own backups

Until now, many developers have recognized the potential of RMAN and its usefulness as a database backup tool. You may recall that RMAN can back up data directly to disk and tape. When a tape solution is involved, RMAN manipulates the tape subsystem using an API called Media Management Library (MML).

This MML is specific to the tape management system and hardware involved. (For example, if you are involved in Tivoli Storage Manager, you must use a specific Mml-tivoli Data Protector,rman to manage tapes through Tivoli.) Although RMAN is a feature of the database engine, MML is not part of the engine but is provided by others; in fact, the price can be quite high. Additionally, if your primary purpose is to back up the Oracle database, it is not appropriate to make additional investments in MML.

In Oracle Database 10g 2nd, a new tool named Oracle Secure Backup (OSB) replaces the MML that is specific to a third-party tape management system, making this requirement easier to accept. OSB can be backed up directly to the tape library, so you don't need any other media management layers. The biggest advantage is that OSB is tightly integrated with the database engine, so it can be controlled and managed through Oracle Enterprise Manager.

But what about other non-database backups, such as backing up Oracle home, initializing files, cluster registry files (in the case of RAC), and other important files? You might ask, do these backups not require backup tools?

The answer is "no need". Like any stand-alone tool, OSB can also perform file system backups. Obviously, the ability to use MML for RMAN backups plus backup file systems provides a low-cost and simplified backup and recovery approach.

The following describes how to use the MML component in Oracle Enterprise Manager. First, select the Maintenance tab in the Oracle Enterprise Manager GUI:

From the menu above, select the hyperlink titled "Configure Backup Settings," and a screen like the following appears:

Note the "Tape Settings" section of this screen where you will configure the Oracle Backup tool.