PowerProtect Data Manager 19.13 Oracle RMAN User Guide

Prerequisites for Oracle RAC parallel backups

Ensure that you meet the following requirements for the multi-stream parallel backups in an Oracle RAC environment:

• The database authentication or Oracle wallet authentication method (not operating system authentication) is used for the parallel backups.

• To use all the nodes for the parallel backups, the Oracle RMAN agent must be installed on all the nodes.

  In this scenario, the default service name or global instance is used in the backup configuration.

• A DNS SCAN name must be configured according to the Oracle white paper "Oracle Single Client Access Name (SCAN)", which is available at the Oracle website.

  When the global instance is added in the tnsnames.ora file, the hostname must be provided as the RAC SCAN name, for example, test-lb-scan.blr.lab.emc.com.

• To use only selected nodes for the parallel backups, the Oracle RMAN agent must be installed on the selected nodes.

  In this scenario, a customized service name is used in the backup configuration.

• The customized service must be active and running. Otherwise, the parallel backup request fails.

Enable the parallel backups to use all Oracle RAC nodes

To enable the parallel backups on all Oracle RAC nodes, ensure that the default service or global instance is created, validated, and running. Then add the global instance entry in the tnsnames.ora file, to establish the connection between all the nodes.

For example, ORCLPP is used as the database name and the default service name, which is called the global instance. The global instance entry is added in the tnsnames.ora file, as shown in the following example:

$ cat tnsnames.ora
# tnsnames.ora Network Configuration File:
# /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/tnsnames.ora
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.
ORCLPP =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = test-lb-scan.blr.lab.emc.com)(PORT = 1521))
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = ORCLPP)
    )
  )

You can perform the parallel backups as centralized backups by specifying the database credentials and ORCLPP as the net service name in the PowerProtect Data Manager UI:

1. Select Infrastructure > Assets, and then click the Oracle tab.
2. Select the assets by clicking the check box next to each required asset name.
3. Select More Actions > Set Credential.

4. In the Set Credential dialog box, specify the required values for Database Credentials:

   • Select Database User or Wallet, and select the credentials from the menu.
   • Type ORCLPP in the Net Service Name text box.

Enable the parallel backups to use selected Oracle RAC nodes

To enable the parallel backups on only selected Oracle RAC nodes, ensure that a customized service is created, validated, and running. The customized service must include the required rules for the parallel backups on the selected nodes. Then add the customized service entry in the tnsnames.ora file, to establish the connection between the selected nodes.

For example, CUSTOMSERVICE is a customized service name with a rule that ORCLPP2 and ORCLPP3 are the preferred nodes and ORCLPP1 is an available secondary or standby node. The customized service is created with the following command:

$ srvctl add service -d ORCLPP -s CUSTOMSERVICE -r "ORCLPP2,ORCLPP3" -a "ORCLPP1"

where:

• ORCLPP is the database name.
• CUSTOMSERVICE is the service name.
• ORCLPP2 and ORCLPP3 are the primary nodes.
• ORCLPP1 is the secondary or standby node.

In this example, the customized service is started with the following command:

$ srvctl start service -d ORCLPP -s CUSTOMSERVICE

The customized service entry is added in the tnsnames.ora file, as shown in the following example:

$ cat tnsnames.ora
# tnsnames.ora Network Configuration File:
# /u01/app/oracle/product/12.2.0/dbhome_1/network/admin/tnsnames.ora
# Generated by Oracle configuration tools.
CUSTOMSERVICE =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS_LIST= (LOAD_BALANCE=on)(FAILOVER=ON)
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = test-lb-scan.blr.lab.emc.com)(PORT = 1521)))
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = CUSTOMSERVICE)
    )
  )

You can perform the parallel backups as centralized backups by specifying the database credentials and CUSTOMSERVICE as the net service name in the PowerProtect Data Manager UI:

1. Select Infrastructure > Assets, and then click the Oracle tab.
2. Select the assets by clicking the check box next to each required asset name.
3. Select More Actions > Set Credential.

4. In the Set Credential dialog box, specify the required values for Database Credentials:

   • Select Database User or Wallet, and select the credentials from the menu.
   • Type CUSTOMSERVICE in the Net Service Name text box.