20 Oracle Application Server Backup and Recovery Tool

backup_cold

Performs a complete cold backup of the Metadata Repository. The command performs the following operations:

• Opens config.inp (or the alternate file specified with the -e option) and retrieves log_path.

• Shuts down the database, starts it in mounted mode, but does not open it.

• Performs a backup of the datafiles and control files using RMAN. The commands are in backup_cold.dat.

• Stores the backup in the directory specified in backup_cold.dat. (This is usually set to the database_backup_path in config.inp.)

• Stores a log file in log_path.

• Opens the database.

For a DCM file-based Metadata Repository:

• Executes the dcmctl exportrepository command to perform a backup of the file-based repository.

• Stores the backup in the directory, specified by config_backup_path parameter in config.inp.

If both a metadata repository and a file-based repository coexist in an application server instance, the backup_cold option backs up both of them as a set. This would be the case where a file-based repository exists in an Infrastructure install.

To check whether a particular OracleAS instance hosts a file-based repository or a database repository, use the following command:

ORACLE_HOME/dcm/bin/dcmctl whichfarm

Repository Type: Database (host) => Hosts a database repository

Repository Type: Distributed File Based (host) => Hosts a file based repository

backup_cold_incr

-l incr_backup_level

Performs an incremental backup of the Metadata Repository.

Works the same as backup_cold, except:

• The -l option specifies the increment level (0 - 4).

• Uses the backup_cold_incrlevel.dat file

There are two types of incremental backups, cumulative and differential. The tool uses the default type, which is differential. For more information, refer to Oracle Database Backup and Recovery Basics in the Oracle Database 10g Documentation Library.

backup_config

Performs a full configuration backup. The backup includes the configurations for DCM managed components and non-DCM managed components. The command performs the following operations:

• Opens config.inp (or the alternate file specified with the -e option) and retrieves config_files_list, config_backup_path, and log_path.

• Creates an archive for configuration of DCM managed components:

  1. dcmctl createarchive -archive <archive_name>

  2. dcmctl exportarchive -archive <archive_name> -f <unique name in config_backup_path>

  3. dcmctl removearchive -archive <archive_name>

• Attempts to open each file in config_files_list. Exits with an error if it cannot open all of the files.

• For each file in config_files_list, checks if the first entry (the key file) exists. If the key file does not exist, it is treated as a fatal error. Otherwise, backs up all files in the list. If any other files do not exist, logs an error and continues.

• Excludes files listed in config_exclude_files.inp.

• When finished, stores the backup in config_backup_path/config_bkp_timestamp.jar and config_backup_path/dcm_archive_timestamp.jar for DCM-managed components.

• If any errors are encountered, creates a log file in log_path/config_bkp_timestamp.

Process Prerequisites:

If the DCM repository type is a database, the following processes should be up:

• The Oracle Internet Directory process must to be up. The command opmnctl startproc ias-component=OID can be used to start this process. The Oracle Internet Directory process exists on Infrastructure (IM + MR) or IM installation. Before starting the Oracle Internet Directory process, the OPMN process must be up. The command opmnctl start can be used to bring it up.

• The database must be up and running.

• The listener process must be up.

To check whether a particular Oracle Application Server instance hosts a file based repository or a database repository, use the following command:

ORACLE_HOME/dcm/bin/dcmctl whichfarm

Repository Type: Database (host) => Hosts a database repository

Repository Type: Distributed File Based (host) => Hosts a file based repository

backup_config_incr

Performs an incremental configuration file backup.

Works the same as backup_config, except:

• Backs up all configuration files that have changed since the last full or incremental configuration file backup.

For process prerequisites, refer to the backup_config option.

backup_instance_cold

Performs a complete cold backup of the Oracle Application Server instance. The command performs the following operations:

• Stops all OPMN managed processes.

• Starts the OPMN administrative process.

• Checks all of the OPMN managed processes to ensure that the processes are stopped. If not, tries to stop them one more time. If the processes still cannot be stopped, issues a fatal error.

• Performs repository backup (database and file-based). For a database repository, shuts down the database for the duration of the backup.

• Starts Oracle Internet Directory and DCM-daemon processes for database repositories.

• Performs configuration backup.

• Starts all OPMN managed processes.

• Checks to ensure that all OPMN processes are running. If not, issues a warning message.

backup_instance_cold_incr -1 <level number>

Performs an incremental cold backup of the Oracle Application Server instance. The command performs the following operations:

• Stops all OPMN managed processes.

• Starts the OPMN administrative process.

• Checks all of the OPMN managed processes to ensure that the processes are stopped. If not, tries to stop them one more time. If the processes still cannot be stopped, issues a fatal error.

• Performs repository backup (database or file-based). For a database repository, shuts down the database for the duration of the backup. The level option applies to database repositories only. Backup is performed to the specified level. The default level is 1.

• Starts Oracle Internet Directory and DCM-daemon processes for database repositories.

• Performs configuration backup.

• Starts all OPMN managed processes.

• Checks to ensure that all OPMN processes are running. If not, issues a warning message.

backup_instance_online

Performs an online backup of the Oracle Application Server instance. The Metadata Repository database must have ARCHIVELOG mode enabled. The command performs the following operations:

• Performs repository backup (database or file based). For a database repository, the database remains up while being backed up.

• Performs configuration backup.

backup_instance_online_incr -1 <level number>

Performs an incremental online backup of the Oracle Application Server instance. The command performs the following operations:

• Performs an incremental repository backup (database or file-based). For a database repository, the database remains up while being backed up. The level option applies to database repositories only. Backup is performed to the specified level. The default level is 1.

• Performs incremental configuration backup.

backup_online

Performs an online backup of the Metadata Repository. If you are running this command on an Infrastructure, ensure that the Metadata Repository is up before running this command. The Metadata Repository database must have ARCHIVELOG mode enabled. The command performs the following operations:

• Opens config.inp (or the alternate file specified with the -e option) and retrieves log_path.

• Assumes the database is open.

• Performs a backup of the datafiles and control files using RMAN. The commands are in backup_online.dat.

• Stores the backup in the directory specified in backup_online.dat. (This is usually set to the database_backup_path in config.inp.)

• Stores a log file in log_path.

• Leaves the database open.

For a DCM file-based Metadata Repository:

• Executes the dcmctl exportrepository command to perform a backup of the file-based repository.

• Stores the backup in the directory, specified by config_backup_path parameter in the config.inp file.

If both a metadata repository and a file-based repository coexist in an application server instance, the backup_online option backs both of them up as a set. This would be the case where a file-based repository exists in an infrastructure install.

To check whether a particular OracleAS instance hosts a file-based repository or a database repository, use the following command:

ORACLE_HOME/dcm/bin/dcmctl whichfarm

Repository Type: Database (host) => Hosts a database repository

Repository Type: Distributed File Based (host) => Hosts a file based repository

backup_online_incr

-l incr_backup_level

Performs an incremental online backup of the Metadata Repository.

Works the same as backup_online, except:

• The -l option specifies the increment level (0 - 4).

• Uses the backup_online_incrlevel.dat file

There are two types of incremental backups, cumulative and differential. The tool uses the default type, which is differential. For more information, refer to Oracle Database Backup and Recovery Basics in the Oracle Database 10g Documentation Library.

configure

[-i dbid]

Configures the tool. When using this command on an Infrastructure, make sure the Metadata Repository is up before you run this command. The command performs the following operations:

• Updates config_files_list and install_type in config.inp with the appropriate information for your installation.

• If using this on an Infrastructure, updates the configuration file with the database id (dbid) and creates customized *.dat files from the database backup *.tmpl files. By default, it queries the Metadata Repository for the dbid. If you use the -i option, you can supply the dbid (this is used for migrating the Metadata Repository from one node to another, such as for Disaster Recovery).

configure_nodb

Same as configure but does not perform the Infrastructure configuration.

Note: You should use configure for all middle-tier and Infrastructure installations. The configure_nodb applies to disaster recovery strategies described in Oracle Application Server High Availability Guide.

help

Prints a usage message.

list_backups

Lists the metadata repository and configuration backups taken for the instance.

list_instance_backups

Lists instance level backups taken for the instance.

list_changed_config

Lists any configuration files that have changed since the last full or incremental backup. This command checks the modification date of each file; it does not check the actual contents of the file. It writes the list of files to a log file and prints the name of the log file. Deleted files or deleted directories are not listed in list_changed_config. Only modified files or directories containing modified files are listed.

node_backup -o image_backup -P <directory for the image archive>

Creates an image archive of the original host. The image includes the original Oracle home, oratab, central inventory and so forth depending on the installation. On UNIX, this operation must be run as root.

node_backup -o prepare

Prepares the node for backup. Preparation includes discovering the operating system type, host name/ip, user/group id, install type, the location of the central inventory, oracle home locations if there are multiple of them, Windows registry, Windows service database scanning to find all services created for Oracle homes. The information is placed in a file to be used in node restoration.

This mode also creates a config backup and a cold database backup.

node_restore -o inst_reconfigure -t config_bkp_timestamp

Reconfigures the instance on the new host including ip changing, database restore, database tempfile setup, config backup restore and so forth depending in the installation type.

node_restore -o inst_register

Registers the instance with the oratab and the central inventory. It also sets up the daemon start and stop script and so forth by running root.sh, or on Windows, Windows services are created.

It must be run as root on UNIX systems.

node_restore -o sys_init

Restores Oracle Universal Installer related metadata such as oratab(Unix), Windows registries (Windows) and central inventor. It should be run once only on the new host.

It must be run as root on UNIX systems.

restore_config

[-t config_bkp_timestamp]

[-n]

Restores configuration files. The command performs the following operations:

• Opens config.inp (or the alternate file specified with the -e option) and retrieves config_backup_path and log_path.

• If the -t option is supplied and it is the timestamp from a full backup, it restores that full backup.

• If the -t option is supplied and it is the timestamp from an incremental backup, it restores the full backup and all incremental backups up to and including the specified incremental backup.

• If the -t option is not supplied, displays a list of configuration file backups in config_backup_path and exits. You can then rerun the command and supply one of these files with the -t option.

• Restores all files from the configuration file backup to the Oracle home, preserving owner, group, permissions, and timestamp.

• If any errors are encountered, creates a log file in log_path/config_rst_timestamp.

• Restore configuration for DCM managed components

  dcmctl importarchive -f <location in config_backup_path that contains dcm archive>
  dcmctl applyarchiveto -archive <archive name> [-cluster <cluster_name>]
  dcmctl removearchive -archive <archive name>
  

The -n option suppresses prompts so you can use the tool in batch mode.

For the process prerequisites, refer to the backup_config option.

Do not run restore_config on multiple nodes in a J2EE cluster in parallel. Doing so will cause restore_config failures. Run restore_config on one node at a time.

restore_db

This command is deprecated. Use restore_repos instead.

restore_instance -t <timestamp> -c

Restores an instance of Oracle Application Server. If the timestamp argument is not specified, then a list of backup timestamps is displayed to the user. The command performs the following operations:

• Stops all OPMN managed processes.

• Checks to verify that the OPMN processes have stopped. If OPMN processes cannot be stopped (maybe an opmn.xml file is missing), a file system restore is performed. Then tries to stop the OPMN processes again. If the OPMN processes still cannot be stopped, issues a fatal error.

• Starts the OPMN administration process.

• Performs repository restore. The -c option is applicable for database repositories only. If the -c option is specified, the control file is restored also.

• Starts Oracle Internet Directory and DCM-Daemon processes (applicable to database repositories only).

• Performs configuration restore.

• Starts all OPMN managed processes.

• Checks to ensure that all OPMN managed processes are up. If not, issues a warning message.

restore_repos

[-u timestamp]

[-c] [-n]

Restores and recovers the Metadata Repository and the DCM file-based repository from the available cold and online backups. To perform restore_repos, the Metadata Repository database must be started and open. The command performs the following operations:

• Opens config.inp (or the alternate file specified with the -e option) and retrieves log_path.

• Restores the control files and datafiles, and performs recovery using RMAN. The commands are in restore_repos.dat.

• Stores a log file in log_path.

• Leaves the database open.

By default, this command restores and recovers the database to its most recent state. You can use the -u option to restore and recover the database to its state at a particular point in time. The format for the timestamp is MM/DD/YYYY_HR24:MIN:SEC, for example:

On UNIX:

bkp_restore.sh -m restore_repos -u 07/26/2003_13:45:06

On Windows:

bkp_restore.bat -m restore_repos -u 07/26/2003_13:45:06

By default, this command does not restore the control file. You can use the -c option to restore the control file.

If you use the -u or -c option, be sure to do a full backup right away because all past backups are invalidated.

The -n option suppresses prompts so you can use the tool in batch mode.

Refer to Section 22.2.5, "Restoring and Recovering the Metadata Repository" for more information.

This command performs the following operations to restore a file-based repository:

• Checks for timestamp input. If not provided, lists the available backup timestamps corresponding to the file-based repository.

• Executes dcmctl importrepository -file <location in config_backup_path that stores the repository backup>

On UNIX:

bkp_restore.sh -m restore_repos -t  2004-05-10_18-33-12

On Windows:

bkp_restore.bat -m restore_repos -t  2004-05-10_18-33-12

If both the metadata repository and a file-based repository coexist in an application server instance, the restore_repos option restores both of them as a set. This would be the case where DCM uses a file-based repository in an infrastructure install.

flashback_repos

-u timestamp |

-b timestamp

[-n]

Rewinds the Metadata Repository to a specified time by using the before images of changed data blocks to back out changes made to the database since the specified time. To perform Flashback, the Metadata Repository database must be started and open. The command performs the following operations:

• Opens the config.inp file (or an alternate file specified with the -e option) and retrieves log_path.

• Recovers the database to or before a specified time by performing Flashback. The commands are located in:

  flashback_repos_to.tmpl

  flashback_repos_before.tmpl

• Stores a log file in log_path.

• Leaves the database open.

Flashback requires a database repository. Flashback is not supported on file-based repositories.

Flashback supports recovery of a Metadata Repository back to the point in time where resetlogs occur. Once resetlogs occur, Flashback cannot recover any change blocks that occurred before the resetlogs.

You do not need to perform a cold backup before running Flashback. Flashback does not require restoring previous backups in order to recover the database. This means the flashback_repos operation is faster than the restore_repos operation. Flashback can undo any logical data corruption or user error, such as deleting an Oracle Application Server schema or undeploying an application by mistake.

To perform Flashback, the database must be configured with a Flash Recovery Area, and ARCHIVELOG mode and Flashback must be enabled. Use the following SQL statements to configure and enable Flashback:

ALTER SYSTEM SET DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST_SIZE = <size> SCOPE=BOTH SID='*';
ALTER SYSTEM SET DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST = <directory_path> SCOPE=BOTH SID='*';
ALTER DATABASE ARCHIVELOG;
ALTER DATABASE FLASHBACK ON;

Refer to the Oracle Database Backup and Recovery Basics manual, Chapter 3, the section on "Setting up a Flash Recovery Area for RMAN" for more detail. Also, refer to Section 21.2.2, "Enabling ARCHIVELOG Mode" in this manual for information on enabling ARCHIVELOG mode.

Either the -u or -b option must be specified. The -u option returns the database to its state at the specified time. The -b option returns the database to its state prior to the specified time. The format for the timestamp is MM/DD/YYYY_HR24:MIN:SEC.

• On UNIX systems:

  bkp_restore.sh -m flashback_repos -u 07/26/2003_13:45:06
  
  

• On Windows systems:

  bkp_restore.bat -m flashback_repos -u 07/26/2003_13:45:06
  

The -n option suppresses prompts so the tool can be run in batch mode.

For more information on Flashback technology, refer to the Oracle Database Backup and Recovery Advanced User's Guide.

After running flashback_repos, do a full backup immediately because all past backups are invalidated. See Section 22.2.5, "Restoring and Recovering the Metadata Repository" for more information.