Listener and Backup/Restore

[Kaustubh Kane]

Hi All,

I am performing Backup and Restore tasks using the RMAN.

Do I need to verify wheter listener is running or not before performing Backup and Restore?

In a situation where listener is not running will the RMAN be not able to perform Backup and Restore?

Please let me know.

Thanks and regards,
Kaustubh Kane.

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

Hot backup, doesn't matter, that means the database can be running.

I did not make changes to the listener while using rman for backups and restores back when I was a more active DBA.

I would say based on experience, not to touch it.

You could always run a few tests.

SEP

[Steven E. Protter]

Sorry,

I think this link explains way better than me.

http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/saternos_scripting.html

SEP

[Ben Dehner]

The answer, like in most things Oracle, is "it depends". For the most part, however, the status of the listener is irrelevant and should just be left alone.

The listener is the network front-end for database connections. The RMAN backups are, in the end, a client session that connects to the database. If RMAN uses a network based connection, the listener must be running. However, most RMAN scripts use an implicit bequeath connection (export ORACLE_SID then "connect target /"), which bypasses the network layer.

Depending on the RMAN configuration, you might also need catalog or auxiliary database connections. Since you can only have one implicit bequeath connection, you either need some games with TNSNAMES to establish these other sessions or just leave the listener running for standard network connections.

[TwoProc]

If the listener that RMAN is using is not up, then your backup will error out. If you've only got one listener on the database, then of course, that one has to be up. You may have created a custom one for the backup, but that's not the setup by default by any means - it would be a fully custom item (but still easy enough to do), and I'm pretty sure if that's how it was done, it would be pretty obvious from looking at and comparing the listener.ora file on the db server and tnsname.ora file from whereever the rman connection is made (catalog server I'm guessing). Which brings up another issue, if you're using a catalog server, then that listener needs to be up as well.

As for the question:
Would you see an error if a required listener is not up?
Answer: Yes.

For example: If someone or some process has a required listener down over here, then sure enough, any automated backups trying to hit those targets do fail with an error.

[skt_skt]

RMAN backups are normally HOT and not require the listner to be down...i would stil say "it depends"

[TwoProc]

No, it doesn't depend.

You can't have the listener down for an RMAN backup. They can NEVER require the listener to be down, because then they can't talk to the database to back it up.

[Yogeeraj_1]

hi,

As mentioned by all above, it depends on your configuration etc.

Case where you do not need the listener to be up on the 'TARGET' database.

rman target / catalog rman/passwd@catdb

Here you are on the machine as the database and running as the the Oracle user.

kind regards
yogeeraj