Function documentationRMAN Backup with the SAP Backup Library Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

This section describes how you can use the Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) with the SAP backup library.

Integration

The SAP backup library is an implementation of the Oracle interface System Backup to Tape (SBT) in the form of a Dynamic Link Library (DLL). The Oracle server process calls this DLL to back up data, usually to tape.

Without this library, the Oracle Server process can only back up to a local disk. For tape management reasons, an SBT backup library is always required for a backup to tape.

Features

Backup to Tape Devices

BRBACKUP or BRARCHIVE calls RMAN for a backup to tape devices.

You can use the following profile parameters in the initialization profile init<DBSID>.sap for backup to:

  • Local tape devices

    backup_dev_type = tape|tape_auto|tape_box

    tape_copy_cmd = rman|rman_dd

  • Remote tape devices

    backup_dev_type = pipe|pipe_auto|pipe_box

    tape_copy_cmd = rman|rman_dd

For more information, see backup_dev_type and tape_copy_cmd.

For a parallel backup to multiple tape devices, the required number of parallel processes are started. RMAN activates the Oracle server process to read the data from the database and transfer it to the SAP backup library. The library then backs up the data to local or remote tape devices, as shown in the following graphic:

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text.

Recommendation Recommendation

For backups to remote tape devices, a remote shell is used to set up a network connection to the remote host. Since errors can occur when you transfer data over a network, we do not recommend you to back up a production system in this way.

End of the recommendation.

You can use RMAN to back up to tape as follows:

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text.

Backup to Remote Disks

You can make BRBACKUP backups to remote disks. You can use the following profile parameters in the initialization profile init<DBSID>.sap:

backup_mode = incr

backup_dev_type = stage

remote_user = "<user_name> [<password>]" (precondition for SAPFTP)

remote_host = <host_name> (precondition for SAPFTP)

For more information, see backup_mode, backup_dev_type, remote_user, remote_host.

With RMAN, you can make only incremental backups (level 1) to remote disks. The SAP-specific file transfer protocol SAPFTP is used alongside the SAP backup library. The full backup (level 0) needed for the incremental backup is made with BRBACKUP and cataloged automatically afterwards.

You can use RMAN to back up to remote disk as follows:

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text.

Backups to remote disks are particularly useful for:

  • Standby databases, when you can use BRARCHIVE to copy offline redo log files to the backup host

  • When you use virtual disks to access tape jukeboxes

For more information, see RMAN-Relevant Profile Parameters.