Dell Avamar for Oracle 19.10 User Guide

Preparing the database for restore

Before you restore an Oracle database, you must prepare the database depending on the types of activities you plan to perform.

1. (VCS clusters only) To restore the Oracle database to a Solaris VCS cluster, stop the listener and other dependent processes. Otherwise, skip this step and go to step 3.
2. (Raw devices only) Before you restore datafiles on a raw device, back up the files in the flash recovery area. Otherwise, skip this step and go to step 3.
   NOTE:For configurations in which you store the database on a raw file structure, Oracle recommends that you use a normal file system as the flash recovery area.
3. Ensure that ORACLE_SID is set correctly by typing the following command:
   echo $ORACLE_SID
   $ORACLE-SID must point to the correct system identifier to restore the Oracle database.
4. To restore an Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) database, complete the following steps:
   1. Shut down all database instances on all nodes by typing the following commands:

      sqlplus “/ as sysdba”
      shutdown immediate;
      exit

   2. Start an instance without mounting the database on the registered node by typing the following commands:

      startup nomount;
      exit

   3. Skip step 5 and go to step 6.
5. To restore a nonclustered Oracle database, close the database and start an instance without mounting the database:
   1. Connect to the database by typing the following command:
      sqlplus "/ as sysdba"
      The command prompt changes to the SQL prompt.
   2. Shut down the database by typing the following command:
      shutdown immediate;
      The following information is displayed in the command shell:

      Database closed.
      Database dismounted.
      ORACLE instance shut down.

   3. Start the database by typing the following command:
      startup nomount;
      The following information is displayed in the command shell:

      ORACLE instance started.
      Total System Global Area 171966464 bytes
      Fixed Size               787988 bytes
      Variable Size            144964076 bytes
      Database Buffers         25165824 bytes
      Redo Buffers             1048576 bytes
      Database mounted.

   4. Disconnect from the database by typing the following command:
      exit
      The following information is displayed in the command shell:

      Disconnected from Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.1.0.7.0

6. Move the existing datafiles (*.dbf), control files (*.ctl), redo log files (*.log), archive log files (*.arc), and autobackup files (*.bkp). The following commands move the existing database files to a convenient location:

   mkdir $ORACLE_HOME/oradata/DB_NAME.saved
   mv $ORACLE_HOME/oradata/DB_NAME/* \
   $ORACLE_HOME/oradata/DB_NAME.saved
   mkdir $ORACLE_HOME/flash_recovery_area/DB_NAME.saved
   mv $ORACLE_HOME/flash_recovery_area/DB_NAME/* \
   $ORACLE_HOME/flash_recovery_area/DB_NAME.saved

   where DB_NAME is the database name in uppercase.
   NOTE:The Oracle files can be in the default location or in a nondefault location. The default location of Oracle files varies depending on the version of Oracle. The previous commands use the default values for the directories.
   For Oracle 11g R2, type the following additional commands:

   mkdir $ORACLE_HOME/flash_recovery_area/db_name.saved
   mv $ORACLE_HOME/flash_recovery_area/db_name/* \
   $ORACLE_HOME/flash_recovery_area/db_name.saved

   where db_name is the database name in lowercase.
   NOTE:Starting with Oracle 11g R2, flash_recovery_area is referred to as fast_recovery_area.
   The following directories are the default directories of the datafiles (*.dbf), control files (*.ctl), redo log files (*.log), archive log files (*.arc), and autobackup files (*.bkp):

   • $ORACLE_HOME/oradata/DB_NAME
   • $ORACLE_HOME/flash_recovery_area/DB_NAME
7. Restore the database to the $ORACLE_HOME/oradata/DB_NAME directory.
   NOTE:If the Oracle directories have been deleted or do not exist, create the directory structure before restoring the database.