Re: Backup Sanity Check

Brian Peasland wrote:

> > Unless I've misunderstood the
> > RMAN commands, that script should do a full backup the first time
> > it's run, then incrementals on subsequent runs which refresh the
> > full backup with any changes.
>
> This is incorrect. RMAN needs an incremental level 0, which is a full
> backup. Incremental level 1 will backup up any changes since the last
> level 0 or since the last level 1 depending on the incremental type
> you use. The incremental level 0 is never refreshed.

Are you *sure* about that?
From
http://download-uk.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/backup.102/b14192/bkup00 4.htm#sthref383

<quote>

[Example script]
RUN {
   RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE WITH TAG 'incr_update';    BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'incr_update'

       DATABASE;
   }

      "The BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1... FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG... command does not actually always create a level 1 incremental backup. If there is no level 0 image copy backup of an particular datafile, then executing this command creates an image copy backup of the datafile on disk with the specified tag instead of creating the level 1 backup."

      "Thus, the first time the script runs, it creates the image copy of the datafile needed to begin the cycle of incremental updates. In the second run and all subsequent runs, it produces level 1 incremental backups of the datafile."

      "The RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE WITH TAG... command causes RMAN to apply any available incremental level 1 backups to a set of datafile copies with the specified tag."

      "If there is no incremental backup or no datafile copy, the command generates a message but does not generate an error."

      "The first time the script runs, this command has no effect, because there is neither a datafile copy nor a level 1 incremental backup."

      "The second time the script runs, there is a datafile copy (created by the first BACKUP command), but no incremental level 1 backup, so again, the command has no effect."

      "On the third run and all subsequent runs, there is a datafile copy and a level 1 incremental from the previous run, so the level 1 incremental is applied to the datafile copy, bringing the datafile copy up to the checkpoint SCN of the level 1 incremental."

<end quote>

That seems fairly clear to me; if a level 1 incremental doesn't find a full backup to increment, it will create an image copy the first time it's run. The 2nd run will create an incremental level 1. All subsequent runs will apply the incremental to the image copy, bringing it up to date. Which implies that Frank & yourself are incorrect, & my quote from the top of this post isn't.

If that section of the documentation is wrong, or dependant on some other steps I've yet to discover, could you point me towards some further information?

-- 
Preston.