Re: Backup Tool Alternative to RMAN and BMC's SQL Backtrack

On Tue, 1 Mar 2005, DA Morgan wrote:

> So the question perhaps should be restated ... given your vested
> self-interest, and their intrangigence, why are you still there?

We all get comfortable with a set of technologies, and it gets harder and harder to keep riding the wave. I can't blame a business for getting comfortable any more than I blame myself. I also had reason to get 8i and HP-UX certification here, which are good credentials themselves (many businesses frown on certification these days as it makes employees more moble). Also, even though I'm in a regional (backwater) data center, I do have some voice in corporate IT policy.

A few hundred feet from me, we have DEC VAX systems with StorageWorks that were installed in the late 1980s (badly configured, I have better uptime than they do). There is also a Unisys with COBOL from the early 80s. ERP will replace us RSN.

I've got 9.2.0.5 installed on some old hardware (you would laugh if I told you how bad it is), but I really just can't motivate myself to take the 9i upgrade exam. I'm not using it, and it seems academic. I hope I take it before 9i goes obsolete.

In any case, I do think that it is EXTREMELY important for ANY dba to be comfortable with an Oracle7-style backup.

1. It demonstrates a knowledge of components, startup procedures, and controlfile manipulation that (AFAIK) RMAN would not draw upon.
2. OS tools (and even SAN firmware) can participate more in an O7 backup.
3. AFAIK, RMAN cannot create a standby server; O7 methods must be used.

O7 approaches composed the MAJORITY of material for the 8i backup exam. Has this changed?

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