Fwd: Anyone Using IBM flash Copy for Database Backups?


Fuad


Begin forwarded message:

From: "Powell, Mark" <mark.powell2@xxxxxx>
Date: November 3, 2009 10:31:55 AM CST
To: "fuadar@xxxxxxxxx" <fuadar@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Anyone Using IBM flash Copy for Database Backups?


I was going to say if IBM Flashcopy uses mirror breaking to perform the backup 
wasn't the ALTER SYSTEM SUSPEND command added to assist with using mirrors for 
backups?
 
From 10gR2 SQL manual entry on ALTER SYSYTEM
"The SUSPEND clause lets you suspend all I/O (datafile, control file, and file 
header) as well as queries, in all instances, enabling you to make copies of 
the database without having to handle ongoing transactions."
 
Suspend, break mirror, Resume so maybe you have a 1 or 2 second freeze.  Of 
course the IBM product may not work this way.
 
I did find the following Oracle support document that may be of interest:
 
Using IBM ESS TotalStorage FlashCopy or Similar for Oracle 10g on AIX  #300225.1
 
HTH

From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Fuad Arshad
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 11:16 AM
To: dofreeman@xxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: sbecker6925@xxxxxxxxx; Patty.Charlebois@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx; regdba@xxxxxxxxx; 
oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Anyone Using IBM flash Copy for Database Backups?

Oracle dies support this and there is documentation avaiable. Both from Ibm and 
oracle on how to configure and  manage a backup from a flascopy 

Fuad


On Nov 3, 2009, at 9:57 AM, "Freeman, Donald" <dofreeman@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I’m interested in this topic as we have the technology but nobody has really 
tried it out as a database backup mechanism.  I’m a little alarmed about the 
report of db backups taking twice as long on 11G.  I hope/believe that isn’t 
going to be true.  We will begin upgrades here soon.  One problem around here 
is that if Oracle doesn’t support it we would be very reluctant to do it.  If 
we get into a problem with a backup scenario using this technology and it fails 
Oracle isn’t going to be there to help.


Donald Freeman

Database Administrator II

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Department of Health

Bureau of Information Technology

2150 Herr Street

Harrisburg, PA 17103


From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Sandra Becker
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:51 AM
To: Patty.Charlebois@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: regdba@xxxxxxxxx; oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Anyone Using IBM flash Copy for Database Backups?


IBM has been pushing flashcopy for us but so far my sys admins haven't been 
able to get around to testing it.  My questions:


Do you use flashcopy for your production backup?  If yes, how well does the 
restore work?  What kind of recovery do you have to do?


Our "expert" consultant says we have to have a quiet point to do the flashcopy 
if we want the restore to be successful but he's never tried it.  It is rare 
that we ever have a quiet point in our database--we would have to manufacture 
one for the length of the flashcopy.  How do you know when the flashcopy is 
complete?  How do you know it was successful?


Sandy



 

On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 11:27 AM, <Patty.Charlebois@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


We use IBM Flashcopy for several purposes, including the creation of  test and 
reporting databases on a nightly basis.   We do this with the production 
(source) database up so there is actually no production downtime to do the 
copy. 

The nightly incremental copy only takes minutes for us to complete for an 
approximately 1TB source database. 

Patty

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