# Oracle on Linux VMs Requirements for Agent-Based Application backup

For standalone Oracle databases running on Linux VMs, you can perform agent-based application backups from a VSA subclient, then use the Oracle database agent to restore a database.

Agent-based application backups using the Virtual Server Agent are supported for Oracle databases running on Linux VMs in the following configurations:

- Oracle VM, OpenStack, and VMware hypervisors

- UNIX versions of Oracle that are listed in Oracle System Requirements

Note

You cannot perform agent-based application backups for Oracle databases that use Automatic Storage Management (ASM) disk groups.

## Linux Requirements

- For streaming or IntelliSnap VMware backups of Oracle database on Linux, use a Linux proxy that has the Virtual Server Agent installed.

  The Linux proxy is also used to mount application snapshots for restores.

- Oracle requirements: For Linux VMs running Oracle, ensure that the following requirements are met:

  - Data and archive logs must be on separate volumes.

  - The DNS hostnames for Linux VMs must be the same as the machine names for the VMs.

  - Logical Volume Manager (LVM) should be configured to use native snapshots.

  - Ensure that the psmisc package is installed.

  - Automatic activation of volumes is disabled on the VSA proxy that is used for backups. See Disabling Automatic Activation of Volumes for Linux VMs.

- To back up a Linux VM running Oracle, ensure that the volume group hosting the database LV has adequate free space that is at least 4 GB or 5% of the database LV size, whichever is greater. If multiple database LVs are hosted on the volume group, ensure that additional free space is available for each LV, that is, 4 GB or 5% of the database LV size, whichever is greater.

  For example, consider a database that is located on an LV which has a size of 200 GB. Five percent of 200 GB is 10 GB. Consequently, the volume group must have at least 10 GB of free space, since this is greater than 4 GB.

  For Linux LVM snapshots, there must be adequate free space in the LVM volume group for snapshot creation. The agent creates LVM snapshots with a default size set to 4 GB or 5% of the LV size, whichever is greater. To increase the snapshot size, configure the nSnapCowSizeMB additional setting. For instructions on adding the additional setting, see Adding or Modifying Additional Settings from the CommCell Console.

## License Requirements

An Application Class 2 license is required for the initial installation and configuration of application plug-ins. After the initial configuration is complete, agent-based application backups release the Application Class 2 license and consume Application Class Virtual licenses instead.

## Application Credentials

To perform backups and restores for Oracle for Linux databases, a user account with admin privileges for the application and database is required.

## Subclient Configuration

Include Linux virtual machines running Oracle in a separate subclient under a Virtual Server instance.

Note

Perform full or incremental backups for VM groups (subclients) that are configured for agent-based application backups. Synthetic full backups are not supported. Scheduled synthetic full backups are converted automatically to full backups for VM groups and subclients that are configured for agent-based application backups.

## Log Truncation

Oracle for Linux database logs are automatically backed up as part of agent-based application backups. The following methods provide log protection:

- A snapshot backup of the archive log volume is taken as part of agent-based application backups.

- An automatic log backup schedule is created automatically after you run an agent-based application backup successfully for the first time. A backup on the Archive Log Subclient runs immediately after the first successful agent-based application backup.

- As part of the automatic log backup schedule, logs are backed up before the archive log destination reaches the available disk space threshold (by default, 70%), or at a regular interval (by default, every 24 hours).

Note

If the Oracle database is in NOARCHIVELOG mode, you must select the Offline Database option on the Content tab of the default subclient properties dialog box for the database to back up the database offline.

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