Veritas Storage Foundation 5.0 for Oracle RAC Configuration Guide Extracts for HP Serviceguard Storage Management Suite, Second Edition, May 2008

Using FlashSnap for Backup and Recovery
About Veritas Database FlashSnap
Chapter 5
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• In many companies, there is a clear separation between the roles of system
administrators and database administrators. Creating database snapshots typically
requires superuser (root) privileges, privileges that database administrators do not
usually have.
• In some companies, database administrators are granted root privileges, but
managing storage is typically not central to their job function or their core
competency.
• Creating database snapshots is a complex process, especially in large configurations
where thousands of volumes are used for the database. One mistake can render the
snapshots useless.
Because it does not require root privileges, Database FlashSnap overcomes these
obstacles by enabling database administrators to create consistent snapshots of the
database more easily. The snapshots can be utilized for repetitive use.
About Database FlashSnap Applications
The following are typical applications of VERITAS Database FlashSnap:
• Database Backup and Restore: Enterprises require 24/7 online data availability.
They cannot afford the downtime involved in backing up critical data offline. By
creating a clone database or a duplicate volume snapshot of data, and then using it
to back up your data, your business-critical applications can continue to run without
extended down time or impacted performance. After a clone database or snapshot
volume is created, it can be used as a source to back up the original database.
• Decision-Support Analysis and Reporting: Operations such as decision-support
analysis and business reporting may not require access to real-time information. You
can direct such operations to use a clone database that you have created from
snapshots using Veritas Database FlashSnap, rather than allowing them to compete
for access to the primary volume or database. When required, you can quickly
resynchronize the clone database with the primary database to get up-to-date
information.
• Application Development and Testing: Development or service groups can use a clone
database created with Database FlashSnap as a test database for new applications.
A clone database provides developers, system testers, and quality assurance groups
with a realistic basis for testing the robustness, integrity, and performance of new
applications.
• Logical Error Recovery: Logical errors caused by an administrator or an application
program can compromise the integrity of a database. You can recover a database by
restoring the database files from a volume snapshot or by recovering logical objects
(such as tables, for example) from a clone database created from volume snapshots
using Database FlashSnap. These solutions are faster than fully restoring database
files from tape or other backup media.
Using Database FlashSnap
The system administrator needs to configure storage according to the requirements
specified in the snapplan.