> Expert > Backup and Restore Agents > Snapshot Management > Supported Agents > Oracle RAC > Oracle RAC Instant Database Clones That Use IntelliSnap with Image Copy

Creating an Instant Oracle RAC Clone from a Disk Copy

Use a backup copy when you want to create an instant clone from a disk copy. This operation does not require the destination client to have access to the hardware array.

When you create a clone, you can specify a reservation period. When the reservation period expires the system automatically shuts down the clone database and frees up all resources.

Schedule clones to run periodically so that they have the latest production data.

For information on how to clone Oracle 12c PDBs, see Cloning an Oracle RAC 12c Pluggable Database (PDB).

Before You Begin

  1. Verify that the Oracle database version on both the source destination databases are the same.

  2. Verify that the Oracle user in both the source and destination database servers have the same user ID.

  3. Install the Oracle Agent and the MediaAgent on the proxy.

  4. On the destination client where you want to create the clone database, create a directory for the mount path for the database clone files. This directory must be writable by the Oracle user.

  5. Do one of the following:

    • If the Oracle database version is 11.2.0.3.0, 11.2.0.3.1, or 11.2.0.3.2, install Oracle patch 13366202 or the latest Oracle 11gR2 Patch Set Update on the destination database.

    • If the Oracle database version is Oracle 12c, then install at a minimum version of Oracle 12.1.0.2 with patch 19404068.

  6. Optional: Create an additional instance on the destination client with the same name (for example, ORACLE_HOME) as the clone database so that you can store the clone instance properties. When you specify the clone options in the CommCell Console, the software pre-populates these properties.

  7. You can clone a database to the same or different computer. If you clone a database to an instance that resides on a proxy computer, the following criteria must be met:

    1. The Oracle database version on the proxy computer must be the same as the version on the source database.

    2. The proxy computer must have access to the storage array that contains the source database volumes.

    3. The Oracle user in both the source and destination computers must have the same user ID.

    4. The Oracle Agent and the MediaAgent must be installed on the proxy.

    5. You must create a dummy Oracle instance with the same name as the source database.

  8. Perform a full backup. For more information, see Backup - Full Backups.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > Oracle RAC.

  2. Right-click the instance, point to All Tasks, and then click Clone.

  3. On the Clone Options dialog box, select Latest Backup, and then click View Content.

  4. In the right pane of the CommCell Browser window, select the entire database to clone, and then click Clone.

    The Restore Options dialog box appears.

  5. On the General tab, specify the destination details.

    1. From the Destination Client list, select the clone destination.

    2. To use the RMAN Recovery catalog, clear the NO CATALOG check box, and then in the Catalog Connect boxes, type the connect string.

  6. On the Clone Options tab, specify the clone details.

    1. Specify the destination database.

      Option

      Steps

      Use a pre-defined instance

      From the Instance list, select the destination.

      Use a database that is not in the list

      1. In the Instance list, type the database name.

      2. In the ORACLE HOME box, type the location of the Oracle HOME directory.

      3. In the ORACLE User box, type the database user ID .

    2. Specify the location of the startup parameter file in the PFile box (for example, /oracle/clone/initdup1.ora).

      If the file that you enter does not exist, the software creates the file and sets the parameters. The Oracle user must have writer permission for the startup file parameter directory.

      If the file that you enter does exist, the dump and control files must exist and have writer permissions for the Oracle user. The specified server parameter file must meet the following criteria:

      • The file must contain all the require Oracle initialization parameters

      • The Oracle user must have the read permission for the file

    3. Specify the path that will contain the Oracle database mounted snapshots, in the Snap Mount Location box (for example, /oracle/clone).

      Note: The Oracle user must have write permissions to this directory. If you chose the option to create the server parameter file, the dump files are created in this directory, so there must be disk space to hold the logs until the reservation period expires.

    4. To have the software clean up any existing clone on the destination that has the same clone SID, regardless of the reservation period, select the Overwrite if clone exists check box.

    5. In the Reservation Period box, specify time to retain the test environment.

      Note: The default time to retain the clone is 1 hour. When this time expires, the software dismounts the database and deletes the mount point.

    6. By default, the system sets up two redo log groups, with one log file in each group. To override this configuration (location, number of groups, files), select the Online Log Files check box, and then select the Group option.

      1. Click Add.

      2. In the Type the Size of the online redo log file.

      3. Select the Size Specifications of the file from SizeSpec list.

      4. To allow the database to reuse an existing file, select the Reuse check box.

  7. On the Copy Precedence tab, select the Restore from Copy Precedence check box, and then in the Copy Precedence box, type the copy precedence number for the backup copy.

  8. Optional: To use third-party data masking, on the Pre/Post tab, in the Post Recovery Command box, type the full path to the data masking script.

  9. On the Job Initiation tab, have the software automatically refresh the clone with the latest backup:

    1. Select Schedule.

    2. Click Configure Schedule Pattern.

      For information on how to configure a restore schedule, see Schedule Restores.

  10. Optional Recover the database. On the Recover tab, select the database recover option:

    Choice

    Description

    Current Time

    Recover to the current time

    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 System Date

    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.

  11. Click OK.

Loading...