RMAN Cataloging Backups / Archivelogs in RMAN 10g / 11g

Oracle Server Version 9.2.0.8.0 to 11.1

How to catalog backups / archivelogs / datafile copies / control file copies, etc. in various versions of Oracle.

The RMAN Catalog is used to accomplish the following:

- Add backup pieces and image copies on disk to the RMAN repository
- Record a datafile copy as a level 0 incremental backup in the RMAN repository, which enables you to use it as part of an incremental backup strategy.
- Record the existence of the last user-managed datafile copies made after the final shutdown

Restrictions and Usage Notes:

1 You must be connected to the target database which must be mounted or open.
2. If RMAN is connected to a recovery catalog, then the catalog database must be opened
3. For a user-managed copy to be cataloged, it must be a datafile copy, control file copy, archived log or backup piece.
4. Accessible on disk
5. You cannot use CATALOG to catalog a file that belongs to a different database.

RMAN treats all user-managed backups as image copies. Note that during cataloging, RMAN does not check whether the file was correctly copied by the operating system utility; it just reads and checks the header.

Examples:
1. Cataloging an Archived Redo Log: This example assumes that you made an operating system copies of the archived logs or transferred them from another location, and then added them to the RMAN repository:

CATALOG ARCHIVELOG ‘?/oradata/archive1_30.dbf’,'?/oradata/archive1_31.dbf’,'?/oradata/archive1_32.dbf’;

2. Cataloging a File Copy as an Incremental Backup: The following example catalogs datafile copy users01.bak as an incremental level 0 backup:

CATALOG DATAFILECOPY ‘?/oradata/users01.bak’ LEVEL 0;

Note: That you can create datafile copies either using the RMAN BACKUP AS COPY command, or by using operating system utilities in conjunction with ALTER TABLESPACE BEGIN/END BACKUP.

3. The following example catalogs a user managed controlfile copy in the RMAN Repository:

The command to take a controfile copy is below:

SQL> alter database backup controlfile to ‘disk1/controlfile01.dbf’;

The command to catalog a controlfile copy is blow:

RMAN> catalog controlfilecopy ‘rdisk1/control01.ctl’;

4. Cataloging Multiple Copies in a Directory:
The following example catalogs a directory full of archived logs that were copied into the /tmp/arch_logs directory with an operating system utility:

CATALOG START WITH ‘/tmp/arch_logs’;

5. Cataloging Files in the Flash Directory Area:
The following example catalogs a directory enabled flash recovery area without prompting the user for each one:

CATALOG RECOVERY AREA NOPROMPT;

6. Cataloging Backup Pieces:
The following example catalogs a RMAN backup piece that was copied with an operating system utility:

CATALOG BACKUPPIECE ‘?/oradaata/01dmsbj4_1_1.log’;

7. The Command Below will catalog the Backup Pieces Help in the Location set for DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST Parameter:

RMAN> catalog db_recovery_file_dest;

Note: All of the above examples are valid for 10g and 11g but the examples 4,5,6 and 7 are not possible for 9i as these features are not available in 9i.

catalog backuppiece, catalog recovery area, catalog start with, catalog db_recovery_file_dest commands are not available in 9i.