System Copy using RMAN tools (SAP)

[Jeff Ohlhausen]

Hi,
I'm looking to perform a system copy from a production system to a quality system. My backend is Veritas netbackup. In the past we had used sap delivered tools (backint) to perform a backup and then alternate client restore. However, now we are using the RMAN interface to Veritas.

Therefore, I'm not sure on the best way to do the system copy. It will be going from SID PRD to SID QAS. We would like take an online backup and then restore that backup with SID name change to the other server.

Does anyone have suggestions or documentation?

I appreciate everyones support.

[Steven E. Protter]

Since you mention rman, i assume you speak of oracle.

Oracle rman is not what we used for database replication at the employer I just departed. We did database cloning for the task you present.

Shut down database, take a cold OS copy. Convert that new copy on a different machine to a new instance name.

That procedure is documented at http://technet.oracle.com

SEP

[Jeff Ohlhausen]

Hi,
Yes - you are correct - I was referring to Oracle. Currently we take an online backup and replicate the database. I would like to take an online backup using RMAN or explore the functionality of duplicate database within rman to accomplish the task described above. If anyone can give some advice that would be great.

Jeff

[Julio Yamawaki]

Hi,

It´s easy to duplicate your database with rman.
First, create your stand by database then, when restoring from rman, you could do an "set newname for datafile to '';, for every datafile in v$datafile
After this, you set up the duplicate command from rman and restore + recover.
We user Data Protector, so I have no idea on what commands you will use in Veritas Netbackup.

Regards

[Jean-Luc Oudart]

Hi

since you mention using RMAN to take a copy of your production database, can I suggest you read these Metalink doc (I don't know your Oracle version)

Note:73912.1 RMAN: Creating a Duplicate Database
Note:245262.1 Create a Duplicate Database with NOCATALOG on Same Node
Note:228257.1 RMAN Duplicate Database in Oracle9i

Regards
Jean-Luc

[Eric Antunes]

Hi Jeff,

If you are planing to have this database in another server you don't need to change the server SID (much more easy to do). You just change the database name for clients:

PRD =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS_LIST =
(ADDRESS =
(COMMUNITY = tcp.world)
(PROTOCOL = TCP)
(Host = )
(Port = 1531)
)
)
(CONNECT_DATA = (SID = PRD)
)
)



QAS =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS_LIST =
(ADDRESS =
(COMMUNITY = tcp.world)
(PROTOCOL = TCP)
(Host = )
(Port = 1531)
)
)
(CONNECT_DATA = (SID = PRD) -- Here is the same SID on the server...
)
)

Best Regards,

Eric Antunes

[Volker Borowski]

Hello,

some things to think about:

1) If you want to have the QAS part of your SAP-transport landscape afterwards you must change the SID. If it is going to become a standalone sandbox, you do not need this.

2) If your backuptool uses a catalog database for RMAN and you backup PRD and QAS within the same catalog database you must do the restore with RMAN and re-incarnate the db, otherwise both databases will have the same DB-ID for RMAN, which can generate a real mess in your backups.

3) if you do not have a catalog-database (RMAN will register bacups in Controlfiles in this case) and a fast network between QAS and PRD, proceed like this without RMAN:
- Shutdown QAS
- NFS-mount /oracle/QAS on production machine
- set Parameter new_db_home in initPRD.sap to /oracle/QAS
- do brbackup -d disk_copy ..... on production
---> This will copy the database directly to the new location (Read brbackup-manual from Sapnet to completely understand how it works). Call brbackup with option "-q" first to verify backup target location.
- Create new controlfiles on QAS, recover (if backup was done online) and "open resetlogs" the QAS DB.

Watch for SAP postactivities after DB-Copy. Check the Systemcopy guides in Sapnet for this. Esp. watch RFC-destinations and released Jobs ! You do not want the Copy-System to talk to production partners !!

Good luck
Volker