RMAN Incremental Updating Backup & Demo Part 1

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This blog post is part of the “RMAN Back to Basics” series, which can be found here.

Incremental Updating Backup

An incremental updating backup is a level 0 incremental backup which is recovered using level 1 incremental backups.  This avoids the overhead of taking level 0 incremental backups, for example in a backup strategy where a level 0 is taken every Sunday and all other days level 1.

An simple example would be, an incremental level 0 backup is taken once and would be recovered daily.  For example everyday an incremental level 1 backup is taken and then the incremental level 1 backup taken yesterday would be used to recover the incremental level 0 backup.  Thus the incremental level 0 backup would fluctuate between 1 to 2 days behind current, i.e. at the point when the backup script is about to run, the incremental level 1 backup would be as of approximately 48 hours ago and when ran would be as of approximately 24 hours ago.

Incremental Updating Backup Demo

We take an incremental updating backup using my script  9_incremental_updated_backup.sh:

[oracle@dc1sbxdb001 demo]$ ./9_incremental_updated_backup.sh 
-----------------------
Step 1: Set environment
-----------------------

Setting the Database Environment using oraenv...
The Oracle base remains unchanged with value /u01/app/oracle

ORACLE_SID: ZEDDBA
ORACLE_HOME: /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1

Press Enter to continue

The environment is set to my ZEDDBA database, next we recover an incremental level 0 backup followed by taking an incremental level 1 backup, which we do three times as shown in the content of the 9_incremental_updated_backup.cmd file:

---------------------------------------
Step 2: Take Incremental Updated Backup
---------------------------------------

Clearing all backups...

Content of 9_incremental_updated_backup.cmd file:

RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE';
HOST 'read Press Enter';
BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE' DATABASE;
HOST 'read Press Enter';
RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE';
HOST 'read Press Enter';
BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE' DATABASE;
HOST 'read Press Enter';
RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE';
HOST 'read Press Enter';
BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE' DATABASE;

Press Enter to continue

Next we recover an incremental level 0 backup using the “RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE” syntax with the tag of the incremental level 1 backup we want to use for recovery “WITH TAG ‘INC UPDATE’“:

Calling 'rman target / cmdfile=/media/sf_Software/scripts/demo/9_incremental_updated_backup.cmd'

Recovery Manager: Release 12.2.0.1.0 - Production on Thu May 30 19:31:09 2019

Copyright (c) 1982, 2017, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

connected to target database: ZEDDBA (DBID=3520942925)

RMAN> RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE';
Starting recover at 30-MAY-19
using target database control file instead of recovery catalog
allocated channel: ORA_DISK_1
channel ORA_DISK_1: SID=152 device type=DISK
no copy of datafile 1 found to recover
no copy of datafile 2 found to recover
no copy of datafile 3 found to recover
no copy of datafile 4 found to recover
Finished recover at 30-MAY-19
RMAN> HOST 'read Press Enter';

host command complete

As you can see RMAN states there is no copy of the datafiles found to recover.  This is because we don’t yet have an incremental level 0 backup.

Next we take an incremental level 1 backup using the “BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG ‘INC UPDATE’ DATABASE” syntax giving the tag of the incremental level 0 backup:

RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE' DATABASE;
Starting backup at 30-MAY-19
using channel ORA_DISK_1
no parent backup or copy of datafile 1 found
no parent backup or copy of datafile 2 found
no parent backup or copy of datafile 3 found
no parent backup or copy of datafile 4 found
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting datafile copy
input datafile file number=00001 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_system_gftkr3fv_.dbf
output file name=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_system_gh08cy6s_.dbf tag=INC UPDATE RECID=5 STAMP=1009654288
channel ORA_DISK_1: datafile copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:03
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting datafile copy
input datafile file number=00002 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_sysaux_gftkr792_.dbf
output file name=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_sysaux_gh08d1g5_.dbf tag=INC UPDATE RECID=6 STAMP=1009654291
channel ORA_DISK_1: datafile copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:03
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting datafile copy
input datafile file number=00003 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_undotbs1_gftkr944_.dbf
output file name=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_undotbs1_gh08d4lc_.dbf tag=INC UPDATE RECID=7 STAMP=1009654293
channel ORA_DISK_1: datafile copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:03
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting datafile copy
input datafile file number=00004 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_users_gftkr9fc_.dbf
output file name=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_users_gh08d7rb_.dbf tag=INC UPDATE RECID=8 STAMP=1009654296
channel ORA_DISK_1: datafile copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
Finished backup at 30-MAY-19

Starting Control File and SPFILE Autobackup at 30-MAY-19
piece handle=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/autobackup/2019_05_30/o1_mf_s_1009654296_gh08d93p_.bkp comment=NONE
Finished Control File and SPFILE Autobackup at 30-MAY-19
RMAN> HOST 'read Press Enter';

host command complete

As you can see RMAN still states there no parent backup or copy of the datafiles found, so instead takes an incremental level 0 backup (copy) for you.

Next we again recover an incremental level 0 backup using the “RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE” syntax with the tag of the incremental level 1 backup we want to use for recovery “WITH TAG ‘INC UPDATE’” to see if it behaves any different this time:

RMAN> RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE';
Starting recover at 30-MAY-19
using channel ORA_DISK_1
no copy of datafile 1 found to recover
no copy of datafile 2 found to recover
no copy of datafile 3 found to recover
no copy of datafile 4 found to recover
Finished recover at 30-MAY-19
RMAN> HOST 'read Press Enter';

host command complete

As you can see RMAN states there still no copy of the datafiles found to recover.  This is not exactly true as an incremental level 0 backup was taken above, however there is no incremental level 1 backup to use to recover hence the message.

Next we again take an incremental level 1 backup using the “BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG ‘INC UPDATE’ DATABASE” syntax giving the tag of the incremental level 0 backup to see if it behaves any different this time:

RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE' DATABASE;
Starting backup at 30-MAY-19
using channel ORA_DISK_1
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting incremental level 1 datafile backup set
channel ORA_DISK_1: specifying datafile(s) in backup set
input datafile file number=00001 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_system_gftkr3fv_.dbf
input datafile file number=00002 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_sysaux_gftkr792_.dbf
input datafile file number=00003 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_undotbs1_gftkr944_.dbf
input datafile file number=00004 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_users_gftkr9fc_.dbf
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting piece 1 at 30-MAY-19
channel ORA_DISK_1: finished piece 1 at 30-MAY-19
piece handle=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/backupset/2019_05_30/o1_mf_nnnd1_INC_UPDATE_gh08dsxd_.bkp tag=INC UPDATE comment=NONE
channel ORA_DISK_1: backup set complete, elapsed time: 00:00:03
Finished backup at 30-MAY-19

Starting Control File and SPFILE Autobackup at 30-MAY-19
piece handle=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/autobackup/2019_05_30/o1_mf_s_1009654317_gh08dx4z_.bkp comment=NONE
Finished Control File and SPFILE Autobackup at 30-MAY-19
RMAN> HOST 'read Press Enter';

host command complete

As you can see RMAN now is aware of the incremental level 0 backup and thus takes an incremental level 1 backup as requested.

Next we again recover an incremental level 0 backup using the “RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE” syntax with the tag of the incremental level 1 backup we want to use for recovery “WITH TAG ‘INC UPDATE’” to see if it behaves any different this time:

RMAN> RECOVER COPY OF DATABASE WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE';
Starting recover at 30-MAY-19
using channel ORA_DISK_1
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting incremental datafile backup set restore
channel ORA_DISK_1: specifying datafile copies to recover
recovering datafile copy file number=00001 name=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_system_gh08cy6s_.dbf
recovering datafile copy file number=00002 name=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_sysaux_gh08d1g5_.dbf
recovering datafile copy file number=00003 name=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_undotbs1_gh08d4lc_.dbf
recovering datafile copy file number=00004 name=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_users_gh08d7rb_.dbf
channel ORA_DISK_1: reading from backup piece /u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/backupset/2019_05_30/o1_mf_nnnd1_INC_UPDATE_gh08dsxd_.bkp
channel ORA_DISK_1: piece handle=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/backupset/2019_05_30/o1_mf_nnnd1_INC_UPDATE_gh08dsxd_.bkp tag=INC UPDATE
channel ORA_DISK_1: restored backup piece 1
channel ORA_DISK_1: restore complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
Finished recover at 30-MAY-19

Starting Control File and SPFILE Autobackup at 30-MAY-19
piece handle=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/autobackup/2019_05_30/o1_mf_s_1009654322_gh08f35f_.bkp comment=NONE
Finished Control File and SPFILE Autobackup at 30-MAY-19
RMAN> HOST 'read Press Enter';

host command complete

As there is now an incremental level 1 backup that has the tag ‘INC UPDATE‘ it is used to recover the incremental level 0 backup to the point when the incremental level 1 backup was taken.

Next we again take an incremental level 1 backup using the “BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG ‘INC UPDATE’ DATABASE” syntax giving the tag of the incremental level 0 backup to see if it behaves any different this time:

RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'INC UPDATE' DATABASE;
Starting backup at 30-MAY-19
using channel ORA_DISK_1
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting incremental level 1 datafile backup set
channel ORA_DISK_1: specifying datafile(s) in backup set
input datafile file number=00001 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_system_gftkr3fv_.dbf
input datafile file number=00002 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_sysaux_gftkr792_.dbf
input datafile file number=00003 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_undotbs1_gftkr944_.dbf
input datafile file number=00004 name=/u01/app/oracle/oradata/ZEDDBA/datafile/o1_mf_users_gftkr9fc_.dbf
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting piece 1 at 30-MAY-19
channel ORA_DISK_1: finished piece 1 at 30-MAY-19
piece handle=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/backupset/2019_05_30/o1_mf_nnnd1_INC_UPDATE_gh08ffh1_.bkp tag=INC UPDATE comment=NONE
channel ORA_DISK_1: backup set complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
Finished backup at 30-MAY-19

Starting Control File and SPFILE Autobackup at 30-MAY-19
piece handle=/u01/app/oracle/fast_recovery_area/ZEDDBA/autobackup/2019_05_30/o1_mf_s_1009654334_gh08fgqj_.bkp comment=NONE
Finished Control File and SPFILE Autobackup at 30-MAY-19

Recovery Manager complete.

Press Enter to continue

As you can see RMAN takes incremental level 1 backup as requested, just as before and will continue to do so till there is no incremental level 0 backup.

Finally, we update the demo log table:

-------------------------------------
Step 3: Updating and viewing demo log
-------------------------------------
Calling 'sqlplus / as sysdba'
To updated and view demo log

1 row created.

Commit complete.

WHEN COMMENTS
------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------
16-MAY-19 05.31.24.000000 PM Enable Archive Log Mode
16-MAY-19 05.40.23.000000 PM Full Backup
16-MAY-19 05.46.17.000000 PM Full Backup plus Archive Logs
17-MAY-19 04.55.12.000000 PM Image Copy
20-MAY-19 05.13.44.000000 PM Incremental Level 0
22-MAY-19 12.09.17.000000 PM Incremental Level 1
22-MAY-19 12.54.43.000000 PM Incremental Level 1 with BCT
24-MAY-19 06.28.33.000000 PM Incremental Level 1 Cumulative
30-MAY-19 07.32.24.000000 PM Incremental Updated Backup

9 rows selected.

Press Enter to exit shell script

[oracle@dc1sbxdb001 demo]$

Reference

Scripts

  1. 9_incremental_updated_backup.sh
  2. 9_incremental_updated_backup.cmd

To download all 2 in one zip: 9_incremental_updated_backup.zip

The rest of the series

  1. Oracle Database File Placement Best Practice & Create Database Demo
  2. RMAN Full Backup & Demo
  3. RMAN Image Copy & Demo
  4. RMAN Incremental & Demo Part 1 (Level 0)
  5. RMAN Incremental & Demo Part 2 (Level 1)
  6. RMAN Incremental with Block Change Tracking & Demo
  7. RMAN Incremental Differential vs Cumulative & Demo
  8. RMAN Incremental Updating Backup & Demo Part 1
  9. RMAN Incremental Updating Backup & Demo Part 2
  10. Flashback
  11. RMAN Block Media Recovery
  12. RMAN Recover database with only FRA
  13. RMAN Obsolete

Please Note: Links to the blog posts will be released daily and updated here.

 

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Thanks

Zed DBA (Zahid Anwar)