Backing Up Archive Redo Log Files- Managing Control Files, Online Redo Logs,and Archivelogs

Depending on your business requirements, you may need a strategy for backing up archive redo log files. Minimally, you should back up any archive redo logs generated during a backup of a database in archivelog mode. Additional strategies may include the following:

•     Periodically copying archive redo logs to an alternate location and then removing them from the primary destination

•     Copying the archive redo logs to tape or backup storage and then deleting them from disk

•     Using two archive redo log locations

•     Using Data Guard for a robust disaster recovery solution

Keep in mind that you need all archive redo logs generated since the begin time of the last good backup to ensure that you can completely recover your database. Only after you are sure you have a good backup of your database should you consider removing archive redo logs that were generated prior to the backup.You can use RMAN to back up the archive redo logs. Additionally, you should specify an RMAN retention policy for these files and have RMAN remove the archive redo logs only after the retention policy requirements are met (see Chapter 18 for details on using RMAN).

Summary

This chapter described how to configure and manage control files and online redo log files and enable archiving. Control files and online redo logs are critical database files; a normally operating database cannot function without them. These files are all managed by the container database (CDB) where the PDB has additional data files.

Up to this point we have covered tasks such as installing the Oracle software; creating databases; managing tablespaces, data files, control files, and online redo log files; and archiving. The next several chapters concentrate on how to configure a database for application use and include topics such as creating users and database objects.