H1887-EMC NetWorker and Oracle Backup and Recover-wp

White Paper

EMC NetWorker and Oracle Backup and Recovery

Abstract This white paper explains the EMC® NetWorker® Integration with Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) ® for backup and recovery. It also explains the value of empowering the DBA to perform backup and recovery with native RMAN scripts while allowing NetWorker to transparently manage the backup policies which are defined by the business. June 2013

Copyright © 2013 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice. The information in this publication is provided “as is.” EMC Corporation makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. For the most up-to-date listing of EMC product names, see EMC Corporation Trademarks on EMC.com. Part Number H1887


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Table of Contents Executive summary.................................................................................................. 4 Audience ............................................................................................................................ 4

Oracle Backup and Recovery with Fast Recovery Area ............................................... 4 EMC NetWorker Module for Database and Applications ............................................ 5 The Solution ............................................................................................................ 5 The Process Steps for NMDA Managed Backup and Recovery .................................... 6 Summary ................................................................................................................ 7


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Executive summary A primary responsibility of the Data Base Administrator (DBA) is to ensure that their databases are protected and that they can provide daily and long term recoveries. The traditional approach of backup administrators controlling all the backups is being replaced by empowering application and database owners to take control of their applications and database backups. One reason for the change is that in the traditional model, the DBAs assume they are unprotected because they have no visibility into backup processes. It is imperative that the backup application provide the business with visibility and control of the corporate backup policies. In the new approach to data protection the database and application owners will use their tools of choice for the backup and recovery. The backup administrator will maintain control over setting the policies and defining backup targets.

Audience This white paper is intended for database and backup administrators seeking a more in-depth look at how EMC NetWorker brings value to the data protection of Oracle databases, while empowering each administrator to leverage the tools and scripts that are used on a daily basis. This paper will discuss how the Oracle DBA and backup administrator can continue to leverage the backup tools of choice without the business losing visibility and control.

Oracle Backup and Recovery with Fast Recovery Area A common backup methodology for Oracle Data Base Administrators is to back up the database to an Oracle Fast Recovery Area (FRA). Files on the FRA (disk based backups) are managed by RMAN automatically. Oracle DBAs choose to configure Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) with FRA because it simplifies the ongoing administration of the database by automatically naming recovery related files, retaining the files as long as necessary for restore and recovery activities, and deleting the files when they are no longer needed for restores or when disk space is needed for some other backup and recovery-related purpose. When setting up a FRA, the DBA must choose a local disk storage location to hold the file and a disk quota is assigned to the FRA. The quota is the maximum space to be used for all files backed up to the FRA. When the disk space limit is approached, Oracle can delete files to make room for new files, subject to the limitations of the retention policy. There are business considerations when configuring the Oracle backups to be saved to FRA only. • Backups to FRA will fail if disk space is not available


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There is no centralized management or reporting for all corporate backup and recoveries. Both the DBA and the backup administrators take responsibility to ensure that corporate backup policies are met There is no method to ensure that the data on the FRA is replicated to off-site storage for disaster recovery/business continuance purposes

In the traditional backup model where the DBA uses FRA for backup and recovery, the backup administrator is often required to perform additional backups that will ensure inherences. For example, the DBA may not be able to keep disk backups for the long term due to limited space on the FRA. Therefore, the DBA also cannot use the native disk backups for disaster recovery. As a result, backup administrators are frequently asked to perform the following tasks: • Move the FRA files to a secondary storage medium • Perform optional cloning to near-line or offline devices to prepare for disaster recovery

EMC NetWorker Module for Database and Applications EMC NetWorker Module for Database and Applications 1.5 allows the DBA to continue backing up to FRA and brings value to the process by ensuring that the data written to the FRA is protected per the business policies and ensuring that Service Level Agreements (SLA) can be met. NetWorker takes an industry lead in offering simplified unified protection for databases and applications. The NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications (NMDA) combines protection for DB2, Informix, Lotus, Oracle, MySQL, and Sybase within a single module. The Oracle RMAN capabilities within NMDA allow the Oracle DBA to maintain control of the RMAN backups using the same scripts that are used for traditional FRA backups. NMDA enhances the FRA management, and NetWorker will back up the FRA to ensure that the files on the FRA adhere to the corporate policies. The Oracle DBA does not need to learn NetWorker, nor does the DBA even know that NetWorker is involved in the data protection of the FRA.

The Solution The NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications empowers the DBA to take control of their RMAN backups, all without any knowledge of NetWorker and with no requirement to modify scripts. At the same time, NetWorker will centrally manage enterprise backup polices. Along with defining the policies, the NetWorker administrator configures the backup target for the FRA backup. The backup target can be any storage target supported by NetWorker, including Data Domain which provides deduplication. On average, Data Domain deduplication provides a 10 -30 times reduction in storage requirements for the backup, as well as 99% reduction in bandwidth requirements when replicating from Data Domain to Data Domain.


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NetWorker brings value by monitoring and managing the FRA. If the FRA is reaching capacity, NetWorker will automatically backup the FRA and clear off the data, no human intervention is required and the RMAN backups will complete without error. Recovery must not be overlooked. With the NMDA the DBA will have a one-step recovery from both the FRA and the storage medium that was used to backup the FRA – all without modification of existing RMAN scripts. For example, when the FRA is backed up by NetWorker and the data removed from the FRA, it is transparent to the DBA during the recovery that the data resides on the backup target. NetWorker makes this transparency possible by updating the RMAN catalogs.

The Process Steps for NMDA Managed Backup and Recovery The steps and scripts for performing an RMAN backup and recovery do not change with NMDA implemented for Oracle databases. The process steps include: 1. The Oracle DBA performs a standard RMAN backup to FRA a. No changes required to existing RMAN FRA backup scripts 2. NMDA monitors and backs up the FRA a. RMAN catalogs are automatically updated b. NetWorker catalogs are automatically? updated c. Cloning, if required, is managed by NetWorker


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d. NMDA supports all NetWorker supported backup targets, including Data Domain for deduplication e. NetWorker manages the retention policies and backup to the appropriate backup and cloning targets 3. One-step recovery by DBA from either the FRA, backup target, or clone target

Summary The NetWorker Module for Databases and Application 1.5 empowers Oracle DBAs to maintain control of their backup and recoveries using the same scripts that they use today, while adding the benefit of the NetWorker administrator to maintain control of the backup policies, storage targets, corporate SLAs and compliance. The solution empowers each administrator to maintain control of their associated applications(s) and databases, while providing state of the art data protection- including Data Domain deduplication, automated cloning for disaster recovery, policy management and reporting.


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