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ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE `/opt/oracle/dbs1/rbs1test.dbf' TO `/opt/oracle/dbs2/rbs1test.dbf';
Windows EnvironmentsUnfortunately, Oracle's Recovery Manager does not gracefully handle incomplete recoveries. For this reason, the task of incomplete recovery using Oracle's Recovery Manager is a task best left to Oracle Support. Incomplete recoveries are delicate procedures, and at this point you can ill afford to take the chance that Recovery Manager will issue a SQL statement that would render your database unusable.
In this chapter, we have covered a very large amount of material related to backing up and recovering Oracle databases. Most DBAs find that every site has requirements for backup/recovery that make them unique. Because you rely so heavily on your backup and recovery solutions, you must make certain that they can truly be relied upon. An untested backup and recovery solution is worst than nothing at allit gives you a false sense of security.
The ideal situation is that you have a completely identical machine to the one you want to protect that you can use to test backup and recovery scenarios. You should start out by cloning the production system to your test system (with the databases shut down, of course). By simulating various failures (shutting the power off to disk drives, deleting files, corrupting redo log files, and so on) and having to recover from them, you'll get invaluable hands-on experience that you can never get by reading any book or attending any seminar. If you can simulate a load on the system while performing these operations, you'll get the best possible experience along with complete reassurance that your backup/recovery solution will protect you against almost any failure.
If you, like most DBAs, don't have a complete system to use for your testing, create an instance on a machine that is most similar to the one you need to protect. It is best to pick a machine that does not already have Oracle instances. This minimizes the chance that you'll damage a working Oracle database. Copy as much of the production database to this test instance as space permits. Simulate the filesystem/disk layout as closely as possible. Use the same backup and recovery procedures you would use on the production system while simulating failures and trying to recover from them.
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No matter how you test your backup and recovery solution, make sure that you document the exact procedures you followed. Also document where you had difficulty and what your resolution was. Anytime you experience a failure on your production system, add that scenario to your failure/recovery exercises. If it happens once, it'll probably happen again. Whenever a new DBA joins your staff, have him or her perform the same disaster and recovery exercises.l
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