Commvault offers multiple solutions to protect and manage Oracle databases.
You can duplicate databases and create instant clones so that you can:
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Duplicate large databases in a short amount of time
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Create test environments
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Retrieve data quickly without intensive resource use on the production environment
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Alleviate the load on production servers
Key Features
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Efficient use of storage through forever incremental backups
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One-step cloning process
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Create multiple copies of the clone from the same snapshot
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Automatic clone creation, and cleanup according to user-configured expiration time
Forever Incremental Backups
Use forever incremental backups to create the database clones.
Forever incremental backups work as follows:
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If you do not have a full backup, the software performs a full backup for the first incremental backup. The first full backup is the master copy of the database.
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All subsequent incremental backups contain only the changes from the last backup, regardless of the type
Forever incremental backups use the block-level interface that integrates snapshot technology with efficient block storage mechanisms for faster backups. The backups are faster and use less storage because only the volume blocks that contain changed data are backed up, rather than the entire database.
If you need to create a new full or master backup, for example to meet compliance standards, you can create a full backup by running a synthetic full backup.
Clones
After you perform the database backup, you can create clones from any of the following backups or backup copies:
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An IntelliSnap snapshot
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A snapshot copy
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A block-level backup copy
When you create a clone, you can specify a reservation period. When the reservation period expires the software automatically shuts down the clone database and frees up all resources.
You can create a clone environment on Oracle11G or 12c.
To clone a pluggable database, see Cloning an Oracle 12c Pluggable Database (PDB).
You can create a clone by using any of the following methods.
IntelliSnap Snapshots
You can duplicate the source database by cloning the snapshots that were created during the backup. The cloning feature uses the storage array hardware capability. For information about the supported arrays for clones, see Snapshot Support - Application Clone.
IntelliSnap Block-Level Backup Copies
If your production database is on a snapshot-capable volume, you can use this option.
The software performs the following tasks when you perform a backup with this configuration:
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Takes a snapshot
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Performs bitmap management
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Catalogs the data
After the software takes the snapshot, a backup copy moves the snapshot to long-term storage.
This option is only supported on the following operating systems:
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All supported Linux versions
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All supported AIX versions
Image Copy
Use the Oracle Image Copy feature to create a snapshot of an Oracle database without having to create the snapshot on the primary storage. You can use this feature in the following cases:
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When the primary database storage resides on volumes that cannot be snapped.
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When you want to use less expensive storage for the copy.
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When you use this feature, the Commvault software uses RMAN to back up the incremental database changes to an image copy volume that can be snapped, and then takes a snap of the volume.
During the backup copy operation, the Commvault software uses the block-level interface.
This option is only supported on the following operating systems:
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All supported Linux versions
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All supported AIX versions