Question : Problem: Perform Backup of an ORACLE 9i (9.2.0.3) Database in a CLUSTER Setup on Windows 2000 with VERITAS Backup Exec

Hello All,

We are looking for the following:

We have 2 database servers, RAC1 and RAC2 setup in a CLUSTER environment
/ setup and the database size being, approx. 250Gb
The database version we are working on is 9i (9.2.0.3)

1. Which version of Backup Exec supports Oracle 9i and what kind of Backup
Strategy is RECOMMENDED.
2. If we are going for an INCREMENTAL backup, how does VERITAS implement
it (or) what is the procedure that Backup Exec follows to do the INCREMENTAL
backup.
3. Does it perform the backup with the database in an UP & Running mode (or)
does it need the database to be Shutdown.
4. And whether it is Stable in performing the Backups and can we depend on
it on a day-to-day basis.


Kind Regards,
Sudhakar

Answer : Problem: Perform Backup of an ORACLE 9i (9.2.0.3) Database in a CLUSTER Setup on Windows 2000 with VERITAS Backup Exec

Hi Sudhakar,

1. You can use version 8.6, but I would recommend going to version 9, as it is a lot less complicated as there are no patches to install.

2. Which backup method you use will depend largely on two things, the backup media being used and whether the backup is occurring live or while the database is offline (or from a mirror).

3. Unfortunately this part of your question has too many possibilities to be answered in this manner. The Veritas white papers for version 9.0 though are pretty well written and throughly cover the various methods.

4. While the Veritas BE v.9.0 is very stable, its dependability depends largely on environment and backup media. Obviously, the better the media and equipment, the more reliable it becomes.

What you really need to do here is map the environment along with the data to be saved to backup, and create a recovery plan. Use the recovery plan to then create the actual backup environment plan and use this to determine whether your equipment and media backup plan is adequate for recovery.

After your map session, you may end up with a backup security plan that entails both an incremental backup that occurs during peak periods followed by a full backup off-peak.

Dennis