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Advanced Restore - Documentum iDataAgent (Oracle)

Overview

There will be situations when you might want to restore either the entire database that was lost due to a system failure or hardware malfunction or recover specific portions of the data that was corrupted. Depending on your requirement, you can perform a component-level browse and restore operation to get back the lost data. For information, see the "Component-Level Browse and Restore Operations" section on this page. In addition, you can also use several alternate restore methods that are documented on this page to restore the required data.

Documentum iDataAgent, enables you to restore and recover the following:

  • Storage Areas

  • Entire database

  • Archive and Deleted Log Files

  • Database files, such as data files (*.dbf), control files (*.ctl), archived logs, parameter files (SP Files)

  • Full-text Indexes

Note

It is recommended to shutdown the Documentum Repository services before initiating the database restore.

You can also recover the database independently when needed. However, note that, these restore operations can be performed only when the database is in NOMOUNT or MOUNT mode.

Generally, you will want to restore/recover data immediately. However, if you need to restore some large amount of data that is not required immediately, you can schedule it to be restored at some later point of time when either the client computer is not in use or when the network utilization is low. Scheduling the restore operation relieves you of having to manually initiate the operation.

Restore Destinations

By default, the iDataAgent restores data to the client computer from which it originated; this is referred to as an in-place restore. You can also restore the data to another client computer in the CommCell. Keep in mind the following considerations when performing such restores:

  • The destination client must reside in the same CommCell as the client whose data was backed up.

  • Note that when you perform restores other than in-place restores, the restored data assumes the rights (i.e., permissions) of the parent directory.

The following section enumerates the types of restore destinations that are supported by this iDataAgent.

In-Place Restore

When restoring data, the iDataAgent provides the facility to restore the data to the same path/destination on the client computer from which the data originated; this is referred to as an in-place restore.

Out-of-Place Restore

All restore levels provide the facility to restore data to a different directory on the client computer from which the data originated; this is referred to as an out-of-place restore to a different path/destination. You can also restore data to a different client computer in the CommCell using the same path/destination. This can include restoring either individual data files or tablespaces, or the entire database to another computer.

Keep in mind the following considerations when performing out-of-place restores:

  • The destination client must reside in the same CommCell as the client whose data was backed up.

  • Note that when you perform an out-of-place restore, the restored data assumes the rights (i.e., permissions) of the parent directory.

Component-Level Browse and Restore Operations

Documentum iDataAgent supports the following types of component-level browse and restore operations.

Restoring Storage Areas

The Documentum iDataAgent enables you to restore storage areas using the Component-level Browse and Restore method.

Restoring Full-Text Indexes

The Documentum iDataAgent enables you to restore full-text indexes using the Component-level Browse and Restore method.

Restoring the Entire Database

At times, if the database gets corrupted, you might need to restore the entire database and recover it back to the current state. However, in order to recover a database, you will also need to restore the logs. Both the data and the logs can be restored. You can restore the database in-place or out-of-place.

You can perform a Component-level Browse and Restore to restore the entire database. Minimally, you will need to specify a destination client, a Catalog Connect string and select Restore Data in the Database tab of the Documentum Restore Options dialog box. In the advanced Restore tab, you will need to specify options for the archive logs as described in the "Restoring Archive Logs" section this page.

Redirect or Rename Data during Restore

One of the advanced restore options available during a restore operation is the ability to redirect datafiles and tablespaces to be restored to a new location. Additionally, datafiles can be renamed during restore. Both of these operations can be performed from the Redirect tab in the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box. Redirecting and/or renaming datafiles and tablespaces as they are restored allows them to be restored without overwriting existing datafiles and tablespaces. This is also useful when restoring and recovering an Oracle database to a new host with a different directory structure. While redirecting the tablespaces/datafiles, it is always recommended that you redirect all of the restored tablespaces/datafiles. In other words, restore only the tablespaces/datafiles that need to be redirected.

Note

Select Switch Database mode for Restore for putting the database in the appropriate mode before restoring it.

Restoring Archive Logs

In addition to restoring data files/ table spaces, the Documentum iDataAgent also enables you to restore the archive logs. You can also restore the logs based on log time or log serial number.

You can restore the entire logs using the browse and restore method.

To restore the archive logs:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click View Content.

  3. Expand the Documentum and select the components such as Storage Area, Full-Text Index and Database to be restored.

    Click Recover All Selected.

  4. By default, Overwrite Files and Overwrite if file on media is newer is selected to overwrite all backed up storage areas.

    By default, Restore to same folder is selected to restore the storage area to the same folder.

  5. Click the Database tab.

  6. Select the Restore Archive Log check box.

  7. Click Advanced.

  8. In the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select the Restore tab.

  9. By default Restore Archive Log check box is selected.

    • Click By Log Time to specify the point in time restore of Archived log file.

    • Click By Log Serial Number to specify the restore between two serial numbers.

  10. In the Target Directory box, type the directory path or click Browse to specify the location.

  11. Click OK.

  12. Click OK to start the restore.

    restore_archive_log

Restoring the Control and Server Parameter (SP) Files

The Documentum iDataAgent also enables to restore a missing control file. Control file is required to recover a database to the current state. You can restore the control file only when the database is shutdown.

To restore the control file:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click View Content.

  3. Expand the Documentum and select the components such as Storage Area, Full-Text Index and Database to be restored.

    Click Recover All Selected.

  4. By default, Overwrite Files and Overwrite if file on media is newer is selected to overwrite all backed up storage areas.

    By default, Restore to same folder is selected to restore the storage area to the same folder.

  5. Click the Database tab.

  6. Select the Restore Control File check box.

  7. Click Advanced.

  8. In the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select the Ctrl & SP Files tab.

  9. Select the Restore Control File As check box and type the restore destination path or click Browse to specify the location.

  10. In the Target Directory box, type the directory path or click Browse to specify the location.

  11. Click OK.

  12. Click OK to start the restore.

    restore_control_file

Point-in-Time Restores

A point in time restore job allows you to restore your database to a specific point in time, and, typically, this point in time would be just before an undesired transaction or update to your database.

When you select the Point in Time option, all necessary backups that are required to restore the database to the indicated time are restored.

To restore and recover an entire database to a point in time:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click View Content.

  3. Expand the Documentum and select the components such as Storage Area, Full-Text Index and Database to be restored.

    Click Recover All Selected.

  4. By default, Overwrite Files and Overwrite if file on media is newer is selected to overwrite all backed up storage areas.

    By default, Restore to same folder is selected to restore the storage area to the same folder.

  5. Click the Database tab.

  6. From the Destination Client list, select the name of the client computer with the database you want to restore to.

  7. In the Number of streams to use for restore box, type or select the number of streams to be used.

  8. Clear NO CATALOG check box to specify a Catalog Connect string.

  9. Select the Restore Data and Recover check boxes to restore and recover the entire database.

  10. Click Advanced.

  11. In the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select the Restore tab.

  12. By default Restore Data check box is selected.

    • Click To Point In Time to specify the point in time to restore the database.

    • Select the Restore Archive Log check box and then click By Log Time to specify the point in time restore of Archived log file.

      Alternatively, select By Log Serial Number to specify the restore between two serial numbers.

  13. In the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select the Recover tab.

  14. Select the Recover check box.

    By default Current Time is selected to recover an entire database at the current time and to the original host or to a different host.

    Click Point In Time to specify a specific point in time to restore the database.

  15. In the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select the Options tab.

  16. Select the Reset Database check box.

  17. Select the Open DB check box to open the database after recovering the database.

    If required, select the Reset Logs to reset the logs after opening the database.

  18. Click OK.

  19. Click OK to start the restore.

    point_in_time_restore

Recovering a Database

In certain cases, you might restore the data and then recover the database at a later point of time. To facilitate this capability, Documentum iDataAgent allows you to perform a recover operation independently.

To recover a database:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click View Content.

  3. Expand the Documentum and select the components such as Storage Area, Full-Text Index and Database to be restored.

    Click Recover All Selected.

  4. By default, Overwrite Files and Overwrite if file on media is newer is selected to overwrite all backed up storage areas.

    By default, Restore to same folder is selected to restore the storage area to the same folder.

  5. Click the Database tab.

  6. From the Destination Client list, select the name of the client computer with the database you want to restore to.

  7. In the Number of streams to use for restore box, type or select the number of streams to be used.

  8. Select the Recover check box to restore and recover the database.

  9. Click Advanced.

  10. In the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select the Recover tab.

  11. Select the Recover check box.

    By default Current Time is selected to recover an entire database at the current time and to the original host or to a different host.

    Click Point In Time to specify a specific point in time to restore the database.

  12. Select Current Time to Recover an entire database at the current time and to the original host or to a different host.

    Select Point In Time option and specify the a specific point in time to restore the database. When you select the To Point in Time option, the backups that are required to restore the database to the indicated time are restored.

  13. In the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box, select the Options tab.

  14. Select the Reset Database check box.

  15. Select the Open DB check box to open the database after recovering the database.

    If required, select the Reset Logs to reset the logs after opening the database.

  16. Click OK.

  17. Click OK to start the restore.

Note

The system automatically resets the logs and the database. Before you can restore and recover the database to the current time, it is good practice to perform another full backup and wait for it to complete successfully.

recover_database

Documentum File Browse Operations

Before restoring documents, you need to manually make these Documentum jobs inactive using Documentum software:

  • dm_DMClean

  • dm_DMFileScan

Once the files are restored, re-activate the jobs again.

The Documentum iDataAgent supports the following types of Documentum File Browse restore operations.

Restoring a Single Document

The Documentum iDataAgent allows you to restore a single document. For step-by-step instructions, see Documentum File Browse for more information.

Restoring Multi-Versioned Documents

To browse and restore selected versions of a multi-versioned document to an out-of-place destination and check them into the Documentum Repository:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, click a Documentum instance.

  2. Right-click a subclient that has been used to back up documents and select Documentum File Browse.

  3. From the Browse Options dialog box, click OK.

  4. Under the Name column, right-click a folder that contains one or more multi-versioned documents and select Explore.

  5. Expand the folder, right-click a multi-versioned document and select View All Versions.

  6. Select one or more versions of the document and click Restore.

  7. The Restore Options dialog box appears. Do the following:

    • Select the name of the source client computer in the Destination Client from the list.

    • Specify a path in Specify Documentum Destination Folder Path to perform an out-of-place restore.

    • Click Unconditional Overwrite.

    • Click Create Entities in Repository.

    • In Specify Destination Path for Storage Area Files, enter the file system path on the destination computer to which the files will be restored. Typically, this would be a system path on the Primary Content Server.

    • Click one of the following:

    • Current Active Version to check the file in with the same version number that is currently active in Documentum.

    • Next Minor Version to check the restored file to the next Minor Version. For example, if the restored document was a Minor version (e.g., 1.2), it will be check it into the next Minor version (e.g., 1.3). If the restored document is a Major version (e.g., 2.0), it will be checked into the next Minor version (e.g., 2.1).

    • Next Major Version to check-in the file to the next major version. For example, if the restored document was a Major version (e.g., 2.0), it will check it into the next Major version (e.g., 3.0). If the restored document was a Minor version (e.g., 1.2), it will check it into the next Major version (e.g., 2.0).

  8. Click OK from the Restore Options dialog box to begin the restore operation.

    Note

    When restoring a minor versioned document (e.g., 1.2), it will restore to a Major version (e.g., 2.0). Additionally, if the document exists in Documentum, then the physical file will be restored, but the document check-in will be skipped even when unconditional overwrite is selected.

    restore_documents

Restoring a Document to a Different Cabinet

To browse and restore selected versions of a document to a different cabinet:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, click a Documentum instance.

  2. Right-click a subclient that has been used to back up documents and select Documentum File Browse.

  3. From the Browse Options dialog box, click OK.

  4. Under the Name column, right-click a folder that contains one or more multi-versioned documents, and select Explore.

  5. Expand the folder in the left pane, right-click a document, and select View All Versions.

  6. Select one or more versions of the document and click Restore.

    The Restore Options dialog box appears.

  7. Clear the Restore to same folder check box.

  8. In the Specify Documentum Destination Folder Path box, enter a different <cabinet_name>/folder to which the files will be restored.

  9. Select Create Entities in Repository check box to check in the documents into the Documentum Repository.

  10. In Specify Destination Path for Storage Area Files, enter the file system path on the destination computer to which the files will be restored. Select one of the following options to check in the file:

    • Current Active Version to check the file in with the same version number that is currently active in Documentum.

    • Next Minor Version to check the restored file to the next minor Version. For example, if the restored document was a minor version (such as, 1.2), it will be check it into the next minor version (such as, 1.3). If the restored document was a major version (such as, 2.0), it will be checked into the next minor version (such as, 2.1).

    • Next Major Version to check-in the file to the next major version. For example, if the restored document was a major version (such as, 2.0), it will check it into the next major version (such as, 3.0). If the restored document was a minor version (such as, 1.2), it will check it into the next major version (such as, 2.0).

  11. Select Unconditional Overwrite to specify if the restored data is to be unconditionally written to the specified location.

  12. Click OK from the Restore Options dialog box to begin the restore operation.

Cross Machine Restore

A cross-machine restore is one where the restore destination is a different host from where the backup was taken.

Perform a cross-machine restore when the original database host has been damaged or destroyed.

The restore can take place to the same or different location on the new host.

Restoring to an Oracle Client

You can restore an Oracle database from a Documentum client to an Oracle client.

Prerequisites

  • The destination Oracle client should have Oracle agent installed on it.

  • From the CommCell Console, create at least one instance each on the Documentum client and the Oracle client.

  • Both the Documentum client and the Oracle client should have the same Oracle SID name.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click View Content.

  3. Expand Documentum and select the database to be restored.

  4. Click Recover All Selected.

    The Documentum Restore Options dialog box is displayed.

  5. Click the Database tab.

    1. From the Destination Client box, select the destination Oracle client to which you are restoring.

    2. In the Restore Options pane, select the following check boxes:

      • Restore Control File check box

      • Restore Data check box

      • Recover check box

  6. Click Advanced.

    The Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box is displayed.

  7. Conditional: If your source and destination databases have different database file paths, follow these steps:

    1. Click the Redirect tab.

    2. Select the Redirect All Table Spaces/Database to check box.

    3. Click Browse and select the destination client data file path.

  8. Click the Ctrl & SP Files tab. Select the Restore From check box.

    • To restore the control file from the latest autobackup, select From Autobackup.

    • To restore the control file from a backup piece, select From backup piece, and type the backup piece name in the text box.

  9. Click the Recover tab and select the Recover Until check box to select a database recover option.

    Choice

    Description

    Current Time

    Recover to the current time.

    Note: If the database is in NORACHIVELOG mode, select this option when you want to perform a point-in-time restore from an offline incremental backup

    Point-in-Time

    Enter the date and time.

    Note: If the time zone is different on the CommServe computer and client, in the Time Zone box, select the client computer time zone.

    SCN

    The System Change Number (SCN) tracks the timing of transactions in the Oracle database. The SCNs are stored in the control files and the datafile headers. You can recover the database to the last existing SCN number in the control file, which is the last consistent database state.

    Latest Backup Time

    Recover to the latest backup job's completion time, which gets passed to the recover operation.

    This value is the Completion Time on the General Tab of the Job Details dialog box. To view the value, right-click the job, and then select View Job Details. For instructions, see Job Controller - Getting Started.

    Latest SCN Number

    Recover to the latest SCN.

    The latest backup job's Next SCN number is passed to the recover operation. This is the Next SCN on the General Tab of the Job Details dialog box. To view the value, right-click the job and then select View Job Details. For instructions, see Job Controller - Getting Started.

    Relative to Sysdate

    Recover to the number of days or hours relative to the current system date. The default option is to recover relative to the days.

    • If you select the Days option, the valid values are 0-7.

    • If you select the Hours option, the valid values are 0-23.

  10. Click OK to close the Documentum Advanced Restore Options dialog box.

  11. Click OK to run the restore operation.

Restoring to Another Documentum Client

You can restore an Oracle database from a Documentum client to another Documentum client.

Prerequisites

  • The destination Documentum client should have Documentum agent installed on it.

  • From the CommCell Console, create at least one instance on both the Documentum clients.

  • Both the Documentum clients should have the same instance name.

Procedure to Restore Database and SA Files

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click View Content.

  3. Expand Documentum and select the database and storage area files.

  4. Click Recover All Selected.

    The Documentum Restore Options dialog box is displayed.

  5. Clear the Restore to same folder check box. In the Destination Client column, select a Documentum client to which you are restoring. Click Browse and select the destination client path.

  6. Click the Database tab.

    1. From the Destination Client box, select the destination Oracle client to which you are restoring.

    2. In the Restore Options pane, select the following check boxes:

      • Restore Control File check box

      • Restore Data check box

      • Recover check box

  7. Click OK to run the restore operation.

Procedure to Restore Documentum View

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Select the Documentum View check box, and specify a subclient that contains documents.

  3. Click View Content.

  4. Expand Documentum and select the components that you want to restore.

  5. Click Recover All Selected.

    The Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box is displayed.

  6. From the Destination Client list, select the name of the destination Documentum client to which you want to restore.

  7. Clear the Restore to same folder check box and type the path in Specify Documentum Destination Folder Path.

  8. Select Create Entities in Repository check box to check the documents into the Documentum Repository.

  9. In Specify Destination Path for Storage Area Files, enter the file system path on the destination computer to which the files will be restored. Select one of the following options to check in the file:

    • Current Active Version to check the file in with the same version number that is currently active in Documentum.

    • Next Minor Version to check the restored file to the next minor Version. For example, if the restored document was a minor version (such as, 1.2), it will be check it into the next minor version (such as, 1.3). If the restored document was a major version (such as, 2.0), it will be checked into the next minor version (such as, 2.1).

    • Next Major Version to check-in the file to the next major version. For example, if the restored document was a major version (such as, 2.0), it will check it into the next major version (such as, 3.0). If the restored document was a minor version (such as, 1.2), it will check it into the next major version (such as, 2.0).

  10. In When Storage Area File Exists pane, select one of the following:

    • By default, Skip is selected to specify that if an item is selected for restore and that item already exists, it will not be restored.

    • Select Unconditional Overwrite to specify if the restored data is to be unconditionally written to the specified location.

  11. Select Impersonate User check box and type the username, password and confirm password to specify the Oracle User account used by the system to perform restore operations for this instance.

  12. Click OK to run the restore operation.

Notes

  • If Create Entities in Repository check box is not selected, in-place restore of physical storage area files associated to documents are restored.

  • To restore documents to the same cabinet, select Create Entities in Repository check box, and in the Specify Destination Path for Storage Area Files box, enter a destination path for storage area files which is a staging path.

Browse Latest Data

The option to browse the backup data provides the facility to view and restore the data that was backed up. The following sections explain how to browse the backup data.

Follow the steps given below to view the latest data backed up by a backup set:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum | <Instance>.

  2. Right-click the default subclient and click Browse and Restore.

  3. By default Latest Backup is selected.

  4. Click View Content.

    browse_backup_data

The latest data backed up by all the subclients is displayed in the Client Browse tab.

Browse Data before a Specified Time

Follow the steps given below to browse the data backed up before specified time:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click Time Range.

    By default Latest Backup is selected.

  3. Under Absolute Time select End Time and enter a date and time to browse and restore data before it.

  4. Click View Content.

    browse_time_range

Browse Data between a Specified Time

Follow the steps given below to browse data between specified time:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click Time Range.

    By default Latest Backup is selected.

  3. Under Absolute Time do the following:

    • Select Start Time and enter a date and time.

    • Select End Time and enter a date and time.

  4. Click View Content.

    browse_data_in_time

Data in between the time specified will be browsed and displayed.

Browsing Data Associated with Specific Jobs

You can browse and restore data associated with specific backup jobs. You can do this from the backup history window as follows:

  1. In the CommCell Browser, right-click the appropriate entity and click View | Backup History.

  2. Click OK.

  3. From the Backup History filter window select the filter options, if any, that you want to apply, and then click OK.

  4. From the Backup Job History window, right-click on a job (of a supported agent type) and click Browse and Restore.

  5. Click OK.

browse_specific_job

Global Browse and Restore Options

Certain browse options can be set globally, to enable it as the default option. Such options include the following:

  • Displaying Aged Data during Browse

    Aged data which are available on media can be included in the browse operation and subsequent recovery if needed.

    Refer to Accessing Aged Data documentation for detailed information on this feature.

  • Disabling Confirmation Message for Restore Jobs

    Confirmation messages for restore jobs can be turned off using this option.

  • Automatically Switching the Copy to Read Data from any Copy

    Use this option to automatically change the copy precedence if the primary copy is unreachable during browse and restore operations.

Follow the steps below to enable these options:

  1. From the CommCell Console ribbon, on the Home tab, click Control Panel.

  2. Under User, click Browse/Recovery.

  3. In the Browse/Search/Recovery Options dialog box, select the Show aged data during browse and recovery check box.

  4. Click OK.

Browse Error Reporting

During a Browse operation, if one of the following error conditions occurs, an accurate problem description will be reported in the Browse window. This is extremely useful for troubleshooting.

  • MediaAgent Offline

  • Index Cache Inaccessible

  • Offline Requested Data Not Found

Browse Using MediaAgent

Data can be restored from any compatible library and drive type in the CommCell. By default, the system automatically identifies and restores data from any configured library in the CommCell, even if the media is not available in the original library in which the data protection operation was performed. Use this procedure to Browse using a specific MediaAgent.

Note

If a MediaAgent is selected for browse, the library and media that are required for restore operation must be accessible to this MediaAgent for restore. The Restore may fail if it is not accessible.

From the CommCell Browser, to browse and restore documents, select one of the following methods:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  2. Click the Advanced Options tab.

  3. Select the <MediaAgent> that must be used from the Use MediaAgent list.

  4. Click View Content.

    use_specififc_ma

Browse from Copies

By default, when a browse operation is requested, the software attempts to browse from the storage policy copy with the lowest copy precedence. If the data that you want to browse was already pruned from the primary copy, the software searches the other copies of the storage policy, starting from the copy with the lowest copy precedence to a copy with the highest copy precedence.

This feature is useful in the following conditions:

  • The media containing protected data for a particular copy has been removed from the storage library, you can choose to browse from a copy whose media are inside the library.

  • Allows browsing from a copy that accesses faster disk media rather than slower tape media.

  • When media drives used by a particular copy are busy with another operation, this helps in browsing from a different copy to avoid resource conflicts.

  • From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | Documentum.

    Right-click the <Instance>, point to All Tasks, and then click Browse and Restore.

  • Click the Advanced Options tab.

  • Select the Browse from copy precedence check box and specify the preference number.

    Note

    If you specify a copy precedence number for a browse operation, the software searches only the storage policy copy with that precedence number in all storage policies used for securing the data. If data does not exist in the specified copy, the browse operation fails even if the data exists in another copy of the same storage policy.

  • Click View Content.

    browse_copy_precedence

List Media

List media option is useful to predict media required for the following operations:

  • To restore data associated with a specific backup set, subclient or instance

  • To restore the index required to browse data associated with a specific backup set or subclient

  • To restore a specific file (or specific files and folders)

  • To restore data associated with a specific job

The list media operation can be performed for instances, backup sets, and subclients. The following sections describe each of these methods.

The List Media feature can also be used in a number of other capacities. Refer to the List Media documentation for a complete overview of this feature.

Listing Media for a Subclient

  1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the subclient for which you wish to list media and then click List Media.

  2. From the List Media dialog box choose one of the following options:

    • Click Media For the Latest Data to list media associated with the most recent data protection cycle.

    • Click Specify Time Range to list media associated with data protection operations up to the specified date and time range.

      Use the Data Before box to specify the end date and time.

    • Click Advanced and then click Exclude Data Before to list media associated with data protection operations after the specified date and time.

    Note that you can use the Specify Browse Time and Exclude Data Before options to list media between a specified date and time range.

  3. Click OK.

    The appropriate media is listed in the Media dialog box.

Listing Media for a Backup Set or Instance

  1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the backup set or instance for which you wish to list media, click All Tasks and then click Browse.

  2. From the Browse Options dialog box, if required, select the following options:

    • Click Browse the Latest Data to list media associated with the most recent data protection cycle.

    • Click Specify Browse Time to list media associated with data protection operations up to the specified date and time range.

      Use the Browse Data Before box to specify the end date and time.

    • Click Advanced and then click Exclude Data Before and then select the date and time from which you wish to list media associated with data protection operations.

    Note that you can use the Specify Browse Time and Exclude Data Before options to list media between a specified date and time range.

  3. Click List Media.

  4. From the List Media dialog box, click List Media for restore within specified time range and click OK.

    The appropriate media is listed in the Media dialog box.

Restore by Jobs

The Restore By Jobs feature provides the facility to select a specific backup job to be restored. This method of restoring data is considerably faster as it reads continuously on the tape and retrieves the data and does not depend on the indexing subsystem to get the seek offsets on the media.

This feature can be used in different scenarios such as the following:

  • To restore point-in-time data associated with a specific backup job, such as full, incremental, differential, etc.

  • To restore CommServe DR data for the disaster recovery or for creating a hot-site purposes.

  • To restore multiplexed data from the same client.

Consider the following when restoring by jobs:

  • Run a restore by jobs whenever you want to restore the entire contents of the job.

  • Avoid running restores by jobs for jobs associated with the default subclient. If you do this, the entire contents of the machine will be restored. As such, this may cause problems (e.g., the machine might run out of space) or produce undesirable results (e.g., you might end up restoring operating system files or directories that you really do not want to restore).

  • Avoid modifying the contents of any associated subclients since this may result in the retrieval of older data.

Use the following steps to restore data by jobs.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click the level whose data you want to browse, click View History, and then click the Backup History.

  2. From the Backup History Filter window, select the filter options, if any, that you want to apply and click OK.

  3. From the Backup Job History window, right-click the backup job that need to be restored and select Browse.

  4. From the Browse Options dialog box, click OK to execute the browse using the Browse the Latest Data option.

  5. From the Browse window, select the instance node in the left pane and then select the required data and logs in the right pane, and click the Recover All Selected button at the bottom of the window.

  6. Select the desired restore options and click OK.

Managing Jobs

Once you initiate the restore operation, a restore job is generated in the Job Controller. Jobs can be managed in a number of ways. The following sections provide information on the different job management options available:

Restart Jobs

Jobs that fail to complete successfully are automatically restarted based on the job restartability configuration set in the Control Panel. This configuration can be changed at any time; however, changes to this configuration will affect all jobs run in the entire CommCell.

It is also possible to override the default CommServe configuration for individual jobs by configuring retry settings when initiating the job. This configuration, however, will apply only to the specific job.

Note

Restored jobs for this Agent are started from the beginning.

Configure Job Restartability at the CommServe Level

  1. In the CommCell Console, click the Control Panel icon, then double-click Job Management.

  2. In the Job Restarts tab of the Job Management dialog box, select a job type from the Job Type list, and then select the Restartable check box.

  3. To change the maximum number of times the Job Manager will try to restart a job, select a number in the Max Restarts box.

  4. To change the time interval between attempts by the Job Manager to restart the job, select a number of minutes in the Restart Interval (Mins) box.

  5. Click OK to save your changes.

Configure Job Restartability for an Individual Job

  1. From the Restore Options dialog box, click Advanced, then select the Job Retry tab and specify the following as desired:

    • Total Running Time - The maximum elapsed time, in hours and minutes, from the time that the job is created.

    • Number of Retries - The number of times that Job Manager will attempt to restart the job.

    • Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expires - Option to kill the job when the specified Total Running Time has elapsed, even if its state is "Running".

  2. Click OK.

Resubmit Jobs

If a restore job fails to complete successfully, you can resubmit the job without the need to reconfigure the original job's restore options using the Resubmit Job feature. When a job is resubmitted, all the original options, restore destinations, and other settings configured for the job remain in tact.

Resubmit a Restore Job

  1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click a client computer whose data recovery history you want to view, click View, then click to view a job history.

  2. From the Job History Filter dialog box, select Restore.

    • If you want to view more advanced options for restores, from the Job History Filter, select Restore, then click Advanced.

    • From the Data Recovery History Advanced Filter select the destination client computer of the restores you would like to view, then click OK.

  3. The system displays the results of the options you selected in the Data Recovery Job History window.

  4. Right-click on any job, and select Resubmit.

  5. Select the job options.

  6. Click OK.

Control Jobs

The following controls are available for running jobs in the Job Controller window:

Suspend

Temporarily stops a job. A suspended job is not terminated; it can be restarted at a later time. Only preemptible jobs can be suspended.

Resume

Resumes a job and returns the status to Waiting, Pending, Queued, or Running depending on the availability of resources or the state of the operation windows and activity control settings.

Restore jobs for this Agent are resumed from the beginning.

Kill

Terminates a job.

These controls can be applied to:

  • All jobs in the Job Controller.

  • All selected jobs in the Job Controller providing you have the correct security associations at the proper level for each job selected.

  • All data protection operations running for a particular client or client/agent.

  • All data protection operations running for a particular MediaAgent.

Control a Job

From the Job Controller of the CommCell Console, right-click the job and select Kill, Suspend, or Resume as desired.

  • When killing a job:

    Click Yes when the confirmation prompt appears if you are sure you want to kill the job. The job status may change to Kill Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. Once completed, the job status will change to Killed and it will be removed from the Job Controller window after five minutes.

  • When suspending a job:

    The job status may change to Suspend Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. The job status then changes to Suspended.

  • When resuming a job:

    As the Job Manager attempts to restart the job, the job status changes to Waiting, Pending, or Running

Additional Options

Several additional options are available to further refine your restore operations. These options are available from the Advanced Restore Options window.

To access the Advanced Restore Options window:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers by double-clicking Client Computers | Documentum | <instance name>. The default and other subclients (if available) are displayed on the right-hand windowpane.

  2. From the Restore Options dialog box, click Advanced.

The following table describes the additional options:

Option

Description

Data Path Options

The data path options can be accessed from the Data Path tab in the Advanced Restore Options window.

Data can be restored to any compatible library and drive type in the CommCell. By default the system automatically identifies the data path for the restore operations as configured in the CommCell. You can change this data path at the restore level by selecting a specific MediaAgent, library or drive pool in the Advanced Restore Options dialog. The data path change can be specified at the restore, schedule and the schedule policy levels. Note that the data path changes specified are only applicable only for the specific restore job/restore schedule.

Ensure that the specified MediaAgent and the library or drive pool are available and accessible, failing which the job will go into Pending state; failover protection does not apply here. Also, note that this setting overrides all other settings, including the data path settings at the Storage Policy, Subclient and the alternate data path (Gridstor).

In some situations you may want to use another data path to perform a data recovery operation. In such a situation, you can specify the MediaAgent, Library and/or the Drive Pool.

Refer to the Change Data Path documentation for a comprehensive overview prior to using this feature.

Startup Options

The start options are accessible from the Startup tab in the Advanced Restore Options window.

These options facilitate the startup behavior of the restore job.

The Default Priority option dictates the type of job that will be used in determining how the Job Manager will allocate resources for this job.

The Change Priority option specifies the priority for the job, between 0 (highest priority) and 999 (lowest priority). The Job Manager will use the priority setting when allocating the required resources. This is useful if you have jobs that are very important and must complete, or jobs that can be moved to a lower priority.

The Start up in Suspended State specifies that this job will start in the Job Controller in a suspended state and cannot run until the job is manually resumed using the Resume option. This option can be used to add a level of manual control when a job is started. For example, you could schedule jobs to start in the suspended state and then choose which scheduled jobs complete by resuming the operation started in the suspended state.

Refer to the Job Priority and Priority Precedence documentation for a comprehensive overview prior to using these options.

Run Pre/Post Restore Processes

This option is available from the Pre/Post tab in the Advanced Restore Options window.

When you select this option, it allows you to use the restore phases as triggers to start processes. For more information on which agents support Pre-processes and Post-processes for Restore, see Restore Options - Support.

Assign Copy Precedence

This option is available from the Copy Precedence tab in the Advanced Restore Options window.

Use this dialog box to assign a particular copy precedence to the copy that you want checked for that particular storage policy.

For a more detailed discussion, see Recovering Data From Copies.

Redirect one or more datafiles

These options are available from the Redirect tab in Advanced Restore Options window.

You can rename and/or redirect one or more datafiles when the data is restored as well as to redirect table spaces to another location for restore.

Alert

You can configure alerts for the specific restore job from the Alert tab in the Advanced Restore Options window.

Refer to the Alerts documentation for comprehensive overview prior to using this feature.

Automatically detect regular expressions

This option can be set from the General tab in the Advanced Restore Options window.

This option allows you to choose to detect or ignore regular expressions (wildcard characters) in the specified source path. This allows you to restore files and folders which contain regular expressions in their name (e.g., c:\[test]).

Filter Data from being Restored

This option is available from the Paths/Filters tab in the Advanced Restore Options window.

You can specify the files, directories, file name patterns, etc. that you want to filter from the restore data.

The following wildcard characters are supported by the restore filter operation. These characters can be used to broaden the scope of the filter operation:

Wildcard Character

Definition

*,

Any number of characters

?,

Any one character

[]

Any range or set of characters

You can also use a combination of wildcards in a single expression (e.g., access?.h*).

Retry Jobs

These options are available from the Job Retry tab in Advanced Restore Options window.

Enable Total Running Time

The maximum elapsed time, in hours and minutes, from the time that the job is created. When the specified maximum elapsed time is reached, as long as the job is in the "Running" state, it will continue; if the job is not in the "Running" state when the specified time is reached, Job Manager will kill the job.

Enable Number of Retries

The number of times that Job Manager will attempt to restart the job. Once the maximum number of retry attempts has been reached, if the job has still not restarted successfully, Job Manager will kill the job. Note that this job-based setting will not be valid if restartability has been turned off in the Job Management from Control Panel.

Restore Deleted Items

These options are available from the Browse Options tab in Advanced Restore Options window.

You can restore deleted items according to a specified time range.

Reset database/logs

These options are available from the Options tab in Advanced Restore Options window.

Allows you to reset the database or logs, open the database after the restore operation has completed, perform a point-in-time restore when the database is in NOARCHIVELOG mode, validate a restore job, set the DBID of the target database to perform restore of control file and/or spfile from autobackup, specify a maximum number of concurrent open datafiles that RMAN can read from simultaneously during a restore operation, specifies the database incarnation value to be reset in order to restore the database to a point-in-time before the last reset logs.

Restore data or archive logs to point-in-time

These options are available from the Restore tab in Advanced Restore Options window.

Allows you to restore data to a point-in-time, by a Tag, or from the Latest Backup. Allows you to restore archive log files by log time, serial number, or tag.

Restore Control File or Server Parameter Files

These options are available from the Ctrl & SP Files tab in Advanced Restore Options window.

Allows you to restore control files or server parameter files from an auto backup or from a backup piece.

Recover the database

These options are available from the Recover tab in Advanced Restore Options window.

Allows you to recover the database from the current time, point-in-time, or a System Change Number (SCN).

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