17

Querying the RMAN Repository

This chapter describes how to obtain information about RMAN from the repository. This
chapter contains these topics:

• About Querying the RMAN Metadata

• Listing RMAN Backups, Copies, and Database Incarnations
• Reporting on Backups, Copies, and Database Schema
• Showing RMAN Configuration Settings
• Printing Scripts Stored in the Recovery Catalog
• Querying the Recovery Catalog Views
• RMAN Repository Query Examples

About Querying the RMAN Metadata

You can obtain information from the RMAN repository in several different ways. The
following table describes the basic options.

Catalog
Method Needed? Description
LIST No Use this command to list backups, copies, and database
command incarnations. The output displays those files operated on by
the CHANGE, CROSSCHECK, and DELETE commands.
REPORT No Use this command to find out which files need a backup,
command which backups are no longer needed, which files are in the
schema, and so forth.
SHOW No Use this command to display persistent RMAN configuration
command settings.
PRINT Yes Use this command to display the names of the scripts stored in
SCRIPT
the recovery catalog.
command
Recovery Yes Query these views to access the catalog itself. Some
catalog fixed information, such as the names and contents of the stored
views scripts, can only be obtained from the catalog views.
V$ fixed No Query these views to access the target database control file.
views RMAN obtains metadata for the recovery catalog from the
control file. Some V$ views such as V$DATAFILE_HEADER,
 Catalog
Method Needed? Description
V$PROCESS, and V$SESSION contain information not found in
the catalog views.

The main source of information about RMAN is the REPORT and LIST command output.
Use these commands to query the RMAN repository and determine what you have
backed up as well as what you need to back up. This information is extremely helpful in
developing an effective backup strategy.

The LIST command displays all RMAN backups (both backup sets and proxy copies) and
copies, while the REPORT command performs more complex analysis. For example, you
can generate a report on which datafiles need a backup and which backup pieces are
obsolete with the REPORT command. RMAN writes the output from the REPORT and LIST
commands to either standard output or a log file.

The SHOW command displays persistent configuration settings. For example, if you
allocate automatic channels with the CONFIGURE command, these settings are displayed in
the SHOW output.

Listing RMAN Backups, Copies, and Database

Incarnations
The LIST command queries the recovery catalog or control file and produces a listing of
the backups, copies, archived redo logs, and database incarnations recorded there. You
can specify these files when running the CHANGE, CROSSCHECK, and DELETE commands.

This section contains these topics:

• About RMAN Lists

• Listing Backups by Backup
• Listing Backups by File
• Listing Copies
• Listing Backups in Summary Mode
• Listing Backups and Copies with Restrictions
• Listing Database Incarnations

About RMAN Lists

You can control how the output is displayed by using the BY BACKUP and BY FILE options
and choosing between the SUMMARY and VERBOSE options.
The primary purpose of the LIST command is to determine which backups or copies are
available. Note that only backups and copies that completed successfully are stored in the
repository. For example, you can list:

• Backups (backup sets and proxy copies) or image copies recorded in the RMAN
repository
• Backups or image copies of a specified database, tablespace, datafile, archived
redo log, or control file
• Backups and image copies that have expired
• Backups and image copies restricted by options such as time, path name, device
type, tag, or recoverability
• Incarnations of a specified database

Use the RMAN repository to determine what you need to back up. In particular, ensure
that:

• The STATUS columns of the output tables list all backups and image copies as
AVAILABLE
• All datafiles, archived redo logs, and control files that you need backed up are
included in the output
• The backups and copies recorded in the repository are recent

Listing Backups by Backup

By default, RMAN lists backups by backup, which means that it serially lists each
backup set or proxy copy and then identifies the files included in the backup. By default,
RMAN lists backups and copies in verbose mode, which means that it provides extensive,
multiline information.

To list backups by backup:

1. After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one),
execute LIST BACKUP. Specify the desired objects with the listObjList clause.
For example, you can enter:
2. LIST BACKUP; # lists backup sets, backup pieces, and proxy copies
3.

Optionally, specify the EXPIRED keyword to identify those backups that were not
found during a crosscheck:

LIST EXPIRED BACKUP;

2. Examine the output (refer to Oracle9i Recovery Manager Reference for an

explanation of the various column headings in the LIST output). Sample output
follows:
3. LIST BACKUP;
4.
5. List of Backup Sets
6. ===================
7.
8. BS Key Size Device Type Elapsed Time Completion Time
9. ------- ---------- ----------- ------------ ---------------
10.19 201K DISK 00:00:01 08-FEB-02
11. BP Key: 30 Status: AVAILABLE Tag: TAG20020208T155239
12. Piece Name: /oracle/dbs/0jdg9v28_1_1
13.
14. List of Archived Logs in backup set 19
15. Thrd Seq Low SCN Low Time Next SCN Next Time
16. ---- ------- ---------- --------- ---------- ---------
17. 1 21 98086 08-FEB-02 98461 08-FEB-02
18. 1 22 98461 08-FEB-02 98464 08-FEB-02
19. 1 23 98464 08-FEB-02 98469 08-FEB-02
20. 1 24 98469 08-FEB-02 98472 08-FEB-02
21. 1 25 98472 08-FEB-02 98475 08-FEB-02
22.
23.BS Key Type LV Size Device Type Elapsed Time Completion
Time
24.------- ---- -- ---------- ----------- ------------
---------------
25.20 Full 197M DISK 00:00:42 08-FEB-02
26. BP Key: 31 Status: AVAILABLE Tag: TAG20020208T155242
27. Piece Name: /oracle/dbs/0kdg9v2b_1_1
28. SPFILE Included: Modification time: 08-FEB-02
29. List of Datafiles in backup set 20
30. File LV Type Ckp SCN Ckp Time Name
31. ---- -- ---- ---------- --------- ----
32. 1 Full 98512 08-FEB-02
/oracle/oradata/trgt/system01.dbf
33. 2 Full 98512 08-FEB-02
/oracle/oradata/trgt/undotbs01.dbf
34. 3 Full 98512 08-FEB-02
/oracle/oradata/trgt/cwmlite01.dbf
35. 4 Full 98512 08-FEB-02
/oracle/oradata/trgt/drsys01.dbf
36. 5 Full 98512 08-FEB-02
/oracle/oradata/trgt/example01.dbf
37. 6 Full 98512 08-FEB-02
/oracle/oradata/trgt/indx01.dbf
38. 7 Full 98512 08-FEB-02
/oracle/oradata/trgt/tools01.dbf
39. 8 Full 98512 08-FEB-02
/oracle/oradata/trgt/users01.dbf
40.
41.BS Key Size Device Type Elapsed Time Completion Time
42.------- ---------- ----------- ------------ ---------------
43.21 1K DISK 00:00:02 08-FEB-02
44. BP Key: 32 Status: AVAILABLE Tag: TAG20020208T155331
45. Piece Name: /oracle/dbs/0ldg9v3r_1_1
46.
47. List of Archived Logs in backup set 21
48. Thrd Seq Low SCN Low Time Next SCN Next Time
49. ---- ------- ---------- --------- ---------- ---------
50. 1 34 98509 08-FEB-02 98529 08-FEB-02
Listing Backups by File

You can list copies of datafiles, control files, and archived logs. Specify the desired
objects with the listObjList or recordSpec clause. If you do not specify an object,
then RMAN displays copies of all database files and archived redo logs. By default,
RMAN lists backups in verbose mode, which means that it provides extensive, multiline
information.

To list backups by file:

1. After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one),
execute LIST BACKUP with the BY FILE option. Specify the desired objects and
options. For example, you can enter:
2. LIST BACKUP BY FILE;
3.

Optionally, specify the EXPIRED keyword to identify those backups that were not
found during a crosscheck:

LIST EXPIRED BACKUP BY FILE;

2. Examine the output (refer to Oracle9i Recovery Manager Reference for an

explanation of the various column headings in the LIST output). Sample output
follows:
3. List of Datafile Backups
4. ========================
5.
6. File Key TY LV S Ckp SCN Ckp Time #Pieces #Copies Tag
7. ---- ------- - -- - ---------- --------- ------- ------- ---
8. 1 20 B F A 98512 08-FEB-02 1 1
TAG20020208T155242
9. 2 20 B F A 98512 08-FEB-02 1 1
TAG20020208T155242
10.3 20 B F X 98512 08-FEB-02 1 1
TAG20020208T155242
11.4 20 B F U 98512 08-FEB-02 1 1
TAG20020208T155242
12.
13.List of Archived Log Backups
14.============================
15.
16.Thrd Seq Low SCN Low Time BS Key S #Pieces #Copies Tag
17.---- ------- ---------- --------- ------- - ------- ------- ---
18.1 21 98086 08-FEB-02 22 A 1 1
TAG20020208T155604
19. 19 A 1 1
TAG20020208T155239
20.1 22 98461 08-FEB-02 22 A 1 1
TAG20020208T155604
21. 19 A 1 1
TAG20020208T155239
 22.1 23 98464 08-FEB-02 22 A 1 1
TAG20020208T155604
23. 19 A 1 1
TAG20020208T155239
24.
25.List of Controlfile Backups
26.===========================
27.
28.CF Ckp SCN Ckp Time BS Key S #Pieces #Copies Tag
29.---------- --------- ------- - ------- ------- ---
30.98510 08-FEB-02 20 A 1 1 TAG20020208T155242
31.
32.List of SPFILE Backups
33.======================
34.
35.Modification Time BS Key S #Pieces #Copies Tag
36.----------------- ------- - ------- ------- ---
37.08-FEB-02 20 A 1 1 TAG20020208T155242

Listing Copies

Besides listing backup sets and proxy copies, you can list image copies. Specify the
desired objects with the listObjList, recordSpec, or archivelogRecordSpecifier
clauses. If you do not specify an object, then LIST COPY displays all datafile copies,
control file copies, and archived redo logs. Note that RMAN considers both archived
redo logs and image copies of archived redo logs as copies. By default, RMAN lists
backups in verbose mode which means that it provides extensive, multiline information.

To list image copies:

1. After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one),
execute LIST COPY. Specify the desired objects and options. For example, you can
enter:
2. LIST COPY; # lists all datafile copies, control file copies, and
archived logs
3. LIST ARCHIVELOG ALL; # lists all archived logs
4.

Optionally, specify the EXPIRED keyword to identify those copies that were not
found during a crosscheck:

LIST EXPIRED COPY;

2. Examine the output Sample output follows:

3. LIST ARCHIVELOG ALL;
4.
5. List of Archived Log Copies
6. Key Thrd Seq S Low Time Name
7. ------- ---- ------- - -------------------- ----
8. 8 1 28 A NOV 07 2001 10:50:07
/oracle/oradata/trgt/arch/archive1_28.dbf
 9. 9 1 29 A NOV 07 2001 11:54:10
/oracle/oradata/trgt/arch/archive1_29.dbf
10.10 1 30 A NOV 07 2001 12:00:22
/oracle/oradata/trgt/arch/archive1_30.dbf
11.11 1 31 A NOV 07 2001 12:01:28
/oracle/oradata/trgt/arch/archive1_31.dbf
12.12 1 32 A NOV 07 2001 12:44:00
/oracle/oradata/trgt/arch/archive1_32.dbf
13.13 1 33 A NOV 07 2001 12:59:37
/oracle/oradata/trgt/arch/archive1_33.dbf

Listing Backups in Summary Mode

By default the LIST output is highly detailed, but you can also specify that RMAN
display the output in summarized form. Specify the desired objects with the
listObjectList or recordSpec clause. If you do not specify an object, then LIST
BACKUP displays all backups. By default, RMAN lists backups in verbose mode.

To list backups in summary mode:

1. After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one),
execute LIST BACKUP. Specify the desired objects and options. For example, you
can enter:
2. LIST BACKUP SUMMARY;
3.

Optionally, specify the EXPIRED keyword to identify those copies that were not
found during a crosscheck:

LIST EXPIRED BACKUP SUMMARY;

2. Examine the output (refer to Oracle9i Recovery Manager Reference for an

explanation of the various column headings in the LIST output). Sample output
follows:
3. List of Backups
4. ===============
5. Key TY LV S Device Type Completion Time #Pieces #Copies Tag
6. ------- -- -- - ----------- --------------- ------- ------- ---
7. 387 B 0 A SBT_TAPE 08-FEB-01 1 2
TAG20020208T155604
8. 396 B 0 A SBT_TAPE 08-FEB-01 3 1
TAG20020208T155604
9. 423 B 0 X SBT_TAPE 08-FEB-01 1 1
TAG20020208T155604
10.427 B 0 U SBT_TAPE 08-FEB-01 1 1
TAG20020208T155604

Listing Backups and Copies with Restrictions

You can specify several different conditions to narrow your LIST output.

To generate a list of copies and backups restricted by object or other conditions:

1. After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one),
execute LIST COPY or LIST BACKUP with the listObjList or recordSpec
condition. For example, enter:
2. # lists backups of all files in database
3. LIST BACKUP OF DATABASE;
4.
5. # lists copy of specified datafile
6. LIST COPY OF DATAFILE '?/oradata/trgt/system01.dbf';
7.
8. # lists specified backup set
9. LIST BACKUPSET 213;
10.
11.# lists datafile copy
12.LIST DATAFILECOPY '/tmp/tools01.dbf';
13.
2. You can also restrict the search by specifying the maintQualifier or
RECOVERABLE clause. For example, enter:
3. # specify a backup by tag
4. LIST BACKUP TAG 'weekly_full_db_backup';
5.
6. # specify a backup or copy by device type
7. LIST COPY OF DATAFILE '?/oradata/trgt/system01.dbf' DEVICE TYPE
sbt;
8.
9. # specify a backup or copy by directory or path
10.LIST BACKUP LIKE '/tmp/%';
11.
12.# specify a backup or copy by a range of completion dates
13.LIST COPY OF DATAFILE 2 COMPLETED BETWEEN '10-DEC-2001' AND '17-
DEC-2001';
14.
15.# specify logs backed up at least 2X to tape
16.LIST ARCHIVELOG ALL BACKED UP 2 TIMES TO DEVICE TYPE sbt;
17.
3. Examine the output. For example, sample output follows for a list of copies of
datafile 1:
4. LIST COPY OF DATAFILE 1;
5.
6. List of Datafile Copies
7. Key File S Completion time Ckp SCN Ckp time Name
8. ------- ---- - --------------- ---------- --------------- ------
9. 3 1 A 18-JUL-00 114148 17-JUL-01
/tmp/system01.dbf

Listing Database Incarnations

Every time you reset the online redo logs of a target database, you create a new
incarnation of the database. You can track the incarnations with the INCARNATION option
of the LIST command.

To list database incarnations:

1. After connecting to the target database and (optionally) the recovery catalog, run
LIST INCARNATION:
2. LIST INCARNATION;
3.

If you are using a recovery catalog, and if you register multiple target databases in
the same catalog, then you can distinguish them by using the OF DATABASE option:

LIST INCARNATION OF DATABASE prod3;

2. Examine the output (refer to Oracle9i Recovery Manager Reference for an

explanation of the various column headings in the LIST output). Sample output
follows:
3. LIST INCARNATION OF DATABASE;
4.
5. List of Database Incarnations
6. DB Key Inc Key DB Name DB ID CUR Reset SCN Reset
Time
7. ------- ------- -------- ---------------- --- ----------
----------
8. 1 12 TRGT 1335481537 NO 1 NOV 12
2001 03:06:41
9. 1 2 TRGT 1335481537 YES 164378 NOV 12
2001 17:54:26
10.

The preceding output indicates that a RESETLOGS was performed on database trgt
at SCN 164378, resulting in a new incarnation. The incarnation is distinguished
by its incarnation key.

Reporting on Backups, Copies, and Database

Schema
This section contains the following topics:

• About RMAN Reports

• Reporting on Objects Needing a Backup
• Reporting on Obsolete Backups and Copies
• Reporting on Unrecoverable Backups and Copies
• Reporting on the Database Schema
About RMAN Reports

To gain more detailed information from the RMAN repository, generate a report. Use the
REPORT command to answer questions such as the following:

• Which files need a backup?

• Which files have had unrecoverable operations performed on them?
• Which backups or copies are obsolete and can be deleted?
• What was the physical schema of the database at some previous time?
• Which files have not been backed up recently?

The information that you obtain from reports can be extremely important for your backup
and recovery strategy. In particular, run the REPORT NEED BACKUP and REPORT
UNRECOVERABLE commands regularly to ensure the following:

• The necessary backups are available to perform recovery.

• Recovery can be performed within a reasonable length of time, that is, that the
mean time to recovery (MTTR) is minimized.

Reporting on Objects Needing a Backup

You can report on objects that require a backup by specifying the NEED BACKUP keyword.
The REDUNDANCY parameter specifies the minimum number of backups or copies that
must exist for a datafile to be considered not in need of a backup. If you do not specify
the parameter, REDUNDANCY defaults to 1. The DAYS parameter indicates that recovery
must begin by using logs more than integer days old. The INCREMENTAL parameter
indicates that more than integer incremental backups are required for complete
recovery.

To report on objects that need a backup:

1. After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run
CROSSCHECK commands as needed to update the status of backups and copies.
Following is a possible crosscheck session:
2. # allocate maintenance channel for crosscheck if automatic
channels not configured
3. ALLOCATE CHANNEL FOR MAINTENANCE DEVICE TYPE sbt;
4. CROSSCHECK BACKUP; # crosschecks all backups
5. CROSSCHECK COPY; # crosschecks all copies
6.
2. If you have a retention policy configured, then you can just run REPORT NEED
BACKUP without any other options to determine which files need backups (sample
output follows):
3. REPORT NEED BACKUP;
4.
5. RMAN retention policy will be applied to the command
6. RMAN retention policy is set to redundancy 1
7. Report of files with less than 1 redundant backups
 8. File #bkps Name
9. ---- ----- -----------------------------------------------------
10.2 0 /oracle/oradata/trgt/undotbs01.dbf
11.3 0 /oracle/oradata/trgt/cwmlite01.dbf
12.4 0 /oracle/oradata/trgt/drsys01.dbf
13.7 0 /oracle/oradata/trgt/tools01.dbf
14.
3. To override the retention policy (or if you do not have a retention policy enabled),
run REPORT NEED BACKUP DAYS. Any files older than the DAYS parameter value
need a new backup because their backups require the specified number of DAYS
worth of archived logs for recovery. For example, run:
4. REPORT NEED BACKUP DAYS = 7 DATABASE; # needs min 7 days of logs
to recover
5. REPORT NEED BACKUP DAYS = 30 TABLESPACE SYSTEM;
6. REPORT NEED BACKUP DAYS = 14 DATAFILE
'?/oradata/trgt/tools01.dbf';
7.
4. To determine which files need an incremental backup, specify the INCREMENTAL
parameter. If complete recovery of a datafile requires more than the specified
number of incremental backups, then RMAN considers it in need of a new
backup. For example, enter:
5. REPORT NEED BACKUP INCREMENTAL = 1 DATABASE;
6. REPORT NEED BACKUP INCREMENTAL = 3 TABLESPACE SYSTEM;
7. REPORT NEED BACKUP INCREMENTAL = 5 DATAFILE
'?/oradata/trgt/users01.dbf';

Reporting on Obsolete Backups and Copies

You can report on objects that are obsolete, that is, superfluous, by specifying the
OBSOLETE keyword. If you do not specify any other options, then REPORT OBSOLETE
displays the backups and copies that are marked obsolete by the current retention policy.
By default, the retention policy is configured to REDUNDANCY of 1.

The REPORT OBSOLETE command supports the RECOVERY WINDOW and REDUNDANCY options
at the command level, which have the same meanings as the options with the same names
on the CONFIGURE command.

To report on obsolete backups and copies:

1. After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one),
issue CROSSCHECK commands as needed to update the status of backups and
copies. Following is a possible crosscheck session:
2. # allocate maintenance channel for crosscheck if automatic
channels not configured
3. ALLOCATE CHANNEL FOR MAINTENANCE DEVICE TYPE sbt;
4. CROSSCHECK BACKUP; # crosschecks all backups
5. CROSSCHECK COPY; # crosschecks all copies
6. RELEASE CHANNEL;
7.
 2. Use the OBSOLETE option to identify which backups are obsolete because they are
no longer needed for recovery. For example, enter:
3. # lists backups or copies that are superfluous because they are
not needed to recover
4. # the database to a random point within the past week
5. REPORT OBSOLETE RECOVERY WINDOW OF 7 DAYS;
6. # lists backups or copies that are superfluous because more than
2 copies of the
7. # files exist on tape
8. REPORT OBSOLETE REDUNDANCY = 2 DEVICE TYPE sbt;
9.
3. Use the ORPHAN option to list unusable backups and copies belonging to an
incarnation that is not a direct predecessor of the current incarnation (refer to
"Reports of Orphaned Backups"). For example, enter:
4. REPORT OBSOLETE ORPHAN;
5.
4. Optionally, delete those backups that are obsolete. You can automatically delete
obsolete backups and copies by issuing the DELETE OBSOLETE command. For
example, you can enter:
5. # delete obsolete backups and copies displayed when you issue
REPORT OBSOLETE
6. DELETE OBSOLETE;
7. # delete obsolete backups and copies according to a specified
recovery window
8. DELETE OBSOLETE RECOVERY WINDOW OF 7 DAYS;
9. # delete obsolete backups and copies according to a specified
redundancy
10.DELETE OBSOLETE REDUNDANCY = 2;
11.

Note that RMAN prompts you for confirmation before actually deleting the files.
To suppress the prompt, specify the NOPROMPT option of the DELETE command.
Specify FORCE to delete the files and remove their repository records regardless of
whether the files exist. RMAN ignores any I/O errors for the deleted objects.

Reporting on Unrecoverable Backups and Copies

Issue the REPORT UNRECOVERABLE command to determine which datafiles have had an
unrecoverable operation performed against an object residing in the datafile after its last
backup.

Assume that you perform an unrecoverable operation on the table employee by issuing
an ALTER TABLE employee ... NOLOGGING statement. If the employee table is located in
datafile 3, then the REPORT command can flag backups of this datafile as unrecoverable.

To report on backups and copies that are unrecoverable:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), issue
REPORT UNRECOVERABLE. For example, enter:
REPORT UNRECOVERABLE DATABASE; # examines all datafiles
REPORT UNRECOVERABLE TABLESPACE 'users'; # examines a specific
tablespace

Reporting on the Database Schema

You do not have to use V$ or recovery catalog views to identify the database files. Issue
REPORT SCHEMA to list the files. If you use a recovery catalog, then you also generate
historical reports of the database schema at a past time. You do not need a recovery
catalog, however, to report the current schema.

To report the database schema at a specified point in time:

1. After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one),
issue REPORT SCHEMA for a list of all the datafiles and tablespaces in the target
database at the current time:
2. REPORT SCHEMA;
3.

If you use a recovery catalog, then you can use the atClause to specify a past
time, SCN, or log sequence number:

REPORT SCHEMA AT TIME 'SYSDATE-14'; # schema as it existed

two weeks ago
REPORT SCHEMA AT SCN 1000; # schema as it existed at
scn 1000
REPORT SCHEMA AT SEQUENCE 100 THREAD 1; # schema as it existed at
log sequence 100

2. Examine the report. For example, here is a sample output:

3. REPORT SCHEMA AT SCN 1000;
4.
5. Report of database schema
6. File K-bytes Tablespace RB segs Datafile Name
7. ---- ---------- -------------------- ------- -------------------
8. 1 307200 SYSTEM YES
/oracle/oradata/trgt/system01.dbf
9. 2 20480 UNDOTBS YES
/oracle/oradata/trgt/undotbs01.dbf
10.3 10240 CWMLITE NO
/oracle/oradata/trgt/cwmlite01.dbf
11.4 10240 DRSYS NO
/oracle/oradata/trgt/drsys01.dbf
12.5 10240 EXAMPLE NO
/oracle/oradata/trgt/example01.dbf
13.6 10240 INDX NO
/oracle/oradata/trgt/indx01.dbf
14.7 10240 TOOLS NO
/oracle/oradata/trgt/tools01.dbf
15.8 10240 USERS NO
/oracle/oradata/trgt/users01.dbf
 16.

This type of information is useful for incomplete recovery because you can
determine the schema of the database for the time to which you want to recover.

Showing RMAN Configuration Settings

Run the SHOW command to display persistent configuration settings specified with the
CONFIGURE command. These settings are persistent in the sense of being configured for
use with any RMAN session.

By using the SHOW command, you can perform the queries discussed in the following
sections:

• Showing All RMAN Configuration Settings

• Showing the RMAN Retention Policy Configuration Settings
• Showing the Automatic Channel Configuration Settings
• Showing the BACKUP Command Configuration Settings
• Showing the Snapshot Control File Filename
• Showing the Default Filenames Configured for Auxiliary Channels

Showing All RMAN Configuration Settings

You can use the CONFIGURE command to specify a variety of persistent settings for the
RMAN environment. The SHOW ALL command displays both the CONFIGURE commands
that you have issued as well as RMAN's default configurations. Note that you can return
any CONFIGURE command to its default setting by running CONFIGURE ... CLEAR.

To show all RMAN configuration settings:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run the
SHOW ALL command. For example, enter the following:

SHOW ALL; # shows all CONFIGURE settings, both user-entered and

default

Sample output for SHOW ALL follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO REDUNDANCY 1; # default
CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION ON;
CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO 'SBT';
CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE 'SBT' PARALLELISM 1;
CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK PARALLELISM 2;
CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DISK TO 2;
CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR SBT TO 1; #default
CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR SBT TO 1; # default
CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DISK TO 1; # default
CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE TO 3072K;
CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO '/oracle/dbs/cf_snap.f';
CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE 'example';

“ Meaning of all configuration ”

Note that the output is displayed so that you can paste it into a script and run it as an
RMAN command file; hence, you can easily change your entire configuration. You can
even run the script on a different target database.

Showing the RMAN Retention Policy Configuration Settings

You can use the CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY command to specify either the number of
days in the recovery window or the level of redundancy. By default, the retention policy
is set to REDUNDANCY = 1.

To show the configuration policy:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run the
SHOW RETENTION POLICY command. For example, enter:

SHOW RETENTION POLICY; # shows the CONFIGURE setting for the

retention policy

Sample output for SHOW RETENTION POLICY follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO RECOVERY WINDOW OF 7 DAYS;

Showing the Automatic Channel Configuration Settings

You can use the CONFIGURE command to set the following:

• The automatic channels

• The default device type used by the automatic channels
• The default number of automatic channels allocated

Showing the Automatic Channel Settings

Issue the SHOW CHANNEL command to display the settings for all automatically allocated
channels.

To show the automatic channel settings:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), issue the
SHOW CHANNEL command. For example, enter:
SHOW CHANNEL; # shows the CONFIGURE setting for the automatic
channels

Sample output for SHOW CHANNEL follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE 'SBT' RATE 1500K;

Showing the Configured Device Types

Issue the SHOW DEVICE TYPE command to display the configured devices and their
parallelism settings. The DISK device type is preconfigured.

To show the default device type for automatic channels:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run the
SHOW DEVICE TYPE command. For example, enter:

SHOW DEVICE TYPE; # shows the CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE ... PARALLELISM
settings

Sample output for SHOW DEVICE TYPE follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE 'SBT' PARALLELISM 1;
CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK PARALLELISM 2;

Showing the Default Device Type

Issue the SHOW DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE command to display the settings for the default
device type used by the automatic channels. When you issue the BACKUP command,
RMAN allocates only default channels of the type set by the CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE
TYPE command. This default device type setting is not in effect when you use commands
other than BACKUP. Note that you cannot disable the default device type: it is always
either DISK (default setting) or sbt.

To show the default device type for automatic channels:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run the
SHOW DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE command. For example, enter:

SHOW DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE; # shows the CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE
setting

Sample output for SHOW DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:
CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO 'SBT';

Showing the BACKUP Command Configuration Settings

You can use the CONFIGURE command to set the following behavior for the BACKUP
command:

• Which tablespaces are excluded from whole database backups (CONFIGURE

EXCLUDE)
• The number of identical copies of each backup that RMAN creates (CONFIGURE
... BACKUP COPIES)
• The default maximum backup set size for jobs using automatic channels
(CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE)
• Whether RMAN backs up files when the identical files are already backed up
(CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION)

Showing the Tablespaces Excluded from Backups

You can use the CONFIGURE EXCLUDE command to exclude tablespaces from whole
database backups.

To show the tablespaces excluded from whole database backups:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run the
SHOW EXCLUDE command. For example, enter:

SHOW EXCLUDE; # shows the CONFIGURE EXCLUDE setting

Sample output for SHOW EXCLUDE follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE 'OLD_ACCOUNTS';

Showing the Number of Identical Copies of Each Backup

Use the CONFIGURE ... BACKUP COPIES command to set the number of identical copies
that RMAN makes of each backup. For example, if the value is 3, RMAN produces a
total of three identical copies of each backup piece in a backup set.

To show the number of identical copies of each backup:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run the
SHOW ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES or SHOW DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES commands. For
example, enter:
SHOW DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES; # shows the CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP
COPIES setting

Sample output for SHOW DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DISK TO 2;
CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR SBT TO 1; #default

Showing the Default Maximum Size of Backup Sets

You can run the CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE command to set the maximum sizes for RMAN
backup sets. The size of a backup set is measured in the total bytes of the included
backup pieces.

To show the maximum sizes for RMAN backup sets:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), issue the
SHOW MAXSETSIZE command. For example, enter:

SHOW MAXSETSIZE; # shows the CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE settings

Sample output for SHOW MAXSETSIZE follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE TO 3072K;

Showing Whether Backup Optimization Is Enabled

You can use the CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION command to enable and disable
backup optimization.

To show the status of backup optimization:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), issue the
SHOW BACKUP OPTIMIZATION command. For example, enter:

SHOW BACKUP OPTIMIZATION;

Sample output for SHOW BACKUP OPTIMIZATION follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION ON;

Showing the Snapshot Control File Filename

You can use the CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE command to set the default value for
the snapshot control file. Issue the SHOW SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE command to display this
value.

To show the snapshot control file filename:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run the
SHOW SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE command. For example, enter:

SHOW SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME; # shows the CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT

CONTROLFILE setting

Sample output for SHOW SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO '/oracle/dbs/cf_snap.f';

Showing the Default Filenames Configured for Auxiliary Channels

You can use the CONFIGURE AUXNAME command to set persistent filenames for auxiliary
channels. For example, you can give new filenames for duplicate or standby datafiles, or
datafiles in a TSPITR operation. Issue the SHOW AUXNAME command to display these
filenames.

To show persistent settings for auxiliary filenames:

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), issue the
SHOW AUXNAME command. For example, enter:

SHOW AUXNAME; # shows the CONFIGURE AUXNAME setting

Sample output for SHOW AUXNAME follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:

CONFIGURE AUXNAME FOR DATAFILE '/oracle/oradata/trgt/tools01.dbf' TO
'/tmp/tools01.dbf';

Printing Scripts Stored in the Recovery Catalog

To print the text of a specified stored script, either run the PRINT SCRIPT command or
query the RC_STORED_SCRIPT_LINE catalog view. To display a list of RMAN stored
scripts, query the RC_STORED_SCRIPT catalog view.

This section contains these topics:

 • Displaying the Text of Stored Scripts with PRINT SCRIPT
• Displaying the Text of Stored Scripts by Querying RC_STORED_SCRIPT_LINE
• Listing Stored Scripts by Querying RC_STORED_SCRIPT

Displaying the Text of Stored Scripts with PRINT SCRIPT

Use the PRINT SCRIPT command to display the text of a stored script. If desired, you
can save the output to an RMAN log file.

To print a stored script to a message log:

1. Start RMAN and connect to the recovery catalog database and target database,
specifying the LOG argument if you want to print to a message log. For example,
enter the following to specify rman_log:
2. % rman TARGET / CATALOG rman/cat@catdb LOG = rman_log
3.

Note that you must connect to the target database that you connected to when you
created the script.

2. Issue a PRINT SCRIPT command to write the script to the log:

3. PRINT SCRIPT b_whole;
4.
3. Exit RMAN and use a text editor to view the script. For example, enter:
4. RMAN> EXIT
5. % vi rman_log

Displaying the Text of Stored Scripts by Querying

RC_STORED_SCRIPT_LINE

The RC_STORED_SCRIPT_LINE view contains the text of all stored scripts for all
incarnations of the target databases registered in the recovery catalog.

To list the text for a specific script:

1. Start SQL*Plus and connect to the recovery catalog database as the catalog
owner. For example, enter the following:
2. % sqlplus rman/cat@catdb
3.
2. Execute the following query, replacing database_key with the numerical primary
key of the target database and script_name with the name of the script:
3. SELECT TEXT
4. FROM RC_DATABASE_INCARNATION i, RC_STORED_SCRIPT_LINE l
5. WHERE i.DB_KEY = database_key
6. AND SCRIPT_NAME = script_name
7. AND i.DB_KEY = s.DB_KEY
8. AND i.CURRENT_INCARNATION = 'YES'
 9. /
10.

Sample output follows:

TEXT
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
{ backup database plus archivelog;}

Listing Stored Scripts by Querying RC_STORED_SCRIPT

The RC_STORED_SCRIPT view contains information about all stored scripts for all
incarnations of the target databases registered in the catalog.

To list the scripts for the current incarnation of a target database:

1. Start SQL*Plus and connect to the recovery catalog database as the catalog
owner. For example, enter the following:
2. % sqlplus rman/cat@catdb
3.
2. Execute the following query in SQL*Plus, replacing database_key with the
numerical primary key of the target database:
3. SELECT DISTINCT SCRIPT_NAME
4. FROM RC_DATABASE_INCARNATION i, RC_STORED_SCRIPT s
5. WHERE i.DB_KEY = database_key
6. AND i.DB_KEY = s.DB_KEY
7. /
8.

Sample output follows:

SCRIPT_NAME
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
backup_db
backup_system

Querying the Recovery Catalog Views

The LIST, REPORT, and SHOW commands should provide you with all the repository
information that you require. Nevertheless, you can sometimes also obtain useful
information from the recovery catalog views, which are views in the catalog schema
prefixed with RC_.

This section contains these topics:

 • About Queries to the Recovery Catalog Views
• Querying Catalog Views for the Target DB_KEY or DBID Values

About Queries to the Recovery Catalog Views

The recovery catalog views are not normalized, but are optimized for RMAN usage
rather than user queries. RMAN obtains backup and recovery information from the target
database control file and stores it in the catalog tables.

In general, the recovery catalog views are not as user-friendly as the RMAN reporting
commands. For example, when you start RMAN and connect to a target database, you
obtain the information for this target database only when you issue LIST, REPORT, and
SHOW commands. If you have 10 different target databases registered in the same recovery
catalog, then the catalog views show the information for all incarnations of all databases
registered in the catalog. You often have to perform joins among the views to distinguish
the specific incarnation of the target database that you are interested in.

Most of the catalog views have a corresponding dynamic performance view in the
database server. For example, RC_BACKUP_PIECE corresponds to V$BACKUP_PIECE. The
primary difference between the catalog and server views is that each catalog view
contains information about all the databases registered in the catalog, whereas the server
view contains information only about itself. The two types of views often use different
primary keys to uniquely identify rows.

Distinguishing a Database in the Catalog Views

Most of the catalog views contain the columns DB_KEY and DBINC_KEY. Each target
database can be uniquely identified by either the primary key, which is the DB_KEY
column value, or the DBID, which is the 32-bit unique database identifier. Each
incarnation of each target database is uniquely identified by the DBINC_KEY primary key.
When querying information about a specific incarnation of a target database, you should
use these columns to specify the database. Then, you can perform joins with most of the
other catalog views to obtain the desired information.

Distinguishing a Database Object in the Catalog Views

An important difference between catalog and V$ views is that a different system of

unique identifiers is used for backup and recovery objects. For example, many V$ views
such as V$ARCHIVED_LOG use the RECID and STAMP columns to form a concatenated
primary key. The corresponding catalog view uses a derived value as its primary keys and
stores this value in a single column. For example, the primary key in RC_ARCHIVED_LOG
is the AL_KEY column. The AL_KEY column value is the primary key that RMAN displays
in the LIST command output.
Querying Catalog Views for the Target DB_KEY or DBID Values

The DB_KEY value which is the primary key for a target database, is used only in the
recovery catalog. The easiest way is to obtain the DB_KEY is to use the DBID of the target
database, which is displayed whenever you connect RMAN to the target database. The
DBID, which is a unique system-defined number given to every Oracle database, is what
distinguishes one target database from another target database in the RMAN metadata.

Assume that you want to obtain information about one of the target databases registered
in the recovery catalog. You can easily determine the DBID from this database either by
looking at the output displayed when RMAN connects to the database, or querying a V$
view as in the following:

SELECT DBID
FROM V$DATABASE;

DBID
---------
598368217

You can then obtain the DB_KEY for a target database by running the following query,
where dbid_of_target is the DBID that you previously obtained:

SELECT DB_KEY
FROM RC_DATABASE
WHERE DBID = dbid_of_target;

To obtain information about the current incarnation of a target database, specify the target
database DB_KEY value and perform a join with RC_DATABASE_INCARNATION by using a
WHERE condition to specify that the CURRENT_INCARNATION column value is set to YES.
For example, to obtain information about backup sets in the current incarnation of a target
database with the DB_KEY value of 1, you can execute this script:

SELECT BS_KEY, BACKUP_TYPE, COMPLETION_TIME

FROM RC_DATABASE_INCARNATION i, RC_BACKUP_SET b
WHERE i.DB_KEY = 1
AND i.DB_KEY = b.DB_KEY
AND i.CURRENT_INCARNATION = 'YES';

You should use the DB_NAME column to specify a database only if you do not have more
than one database registered in the recovery catalog with the same DB_NAME. RMAN
permits you to register more than one database with the same database name, but requires
that the DBID values be different. For example, you can have ten databases with the
DB_NAME value of prod1, each with a different DBID. Because the DBID is the unique
identifier for every database in the metadata, use this value to obtain the DB_KEY and then
use DB_KEY to uniquely identify the database.
RMAN Repository Query Examples
This section contains these topics:

• Listing Objects with Restrictions: Example

• Reporting Backups and Copies Not Needed for the Recovery Window: Example
• Reporting Redundant Backups and Copies: Example
• Generating Historical Reports of Database Schema: Example
• Listing Database Incarnations: Example

Listing Objects with Restrictions: Example

Use the LIST command to query the contents of the recovery catalog or the target
database control file if no recovery catalog is used. You can use several different
parameters to qualify lists.

The following example lists all backups of datafiles in tablespace tbs_1 that were made
after June 11, 2000:

LIST BACKUP OF TABLESPACE users BY FILE COMPLETED BEFORE 'JUN 11 2001

00:00:00';

The following example lists backups on media management devices:

LIST BACKUP OF DATABASE SUMMARY DEVICE TYPE sbt;

The following example lists all copies of datafile 2 with the tag df2__copy that are in the
/copy directory:

LIST COPY OF DATAFILE 2 TAG df2_copy LIKE '/copy/%';

Reporting Backups and Copies Not Needed for the Recovery

Window: Example

Use the REPORT command to determine which copies and backups are superfluous and so
can be deleted. For example, if you only need to be able to recover the database to a point
within the last two weeks, then issue this command:

REPORT OBSOLETE RECOVERY WINDOW OF 14 DAYS;

You can then delete these obsolete backups and copies by issuing this command:

DELETE OBSOLETE RECOVERY WINDOW OF 14 DAYS;

Reporting Redundant Backups and Copies: Example

The following command reports all backups and copies on disk that are obsolete because
three more recent backups or copies are already available:

REPORT OBSOLETE REDUNDANCY 3 DEVICE TYPE DISK;

The following command reports all backups on tape that are obsolete because at least two
backups already exist that were made no more than one week ago:

REPORT OBSOLETE REDUNDANCY 2 UNTIL TIME 'SYSDATE-7' DEVICE TYPE sbt;

Generating Historical Reports of Database Schema: Example

The following commands reports the database schema in the present, a week ago, and on
September 20, 2000:

REPORT SCHEMA;
REPORT SCHEMA AT TIME 'SYSDATE-7';
REPORT SCHEMA AT TIME "TO_DATE('09/20/01','MM/DD/YY')";

The following command reports on the database schema at SCN 953:

REPORT SCHEMA AT SCN 953;

The following command reports on the database schema at log sequence number 12 of
thread 2:

REPORT SCHEMA AT SEQUENCE 12 THREAD 2;

Listing Database Incarnations: Example

Every time that you perform a RESETLOGS operation on a database, you create a new
incarnation. This example lists all database incarnation of trgt registered in the recovery
catalog:

LIST INCARNATION OF DATABASE trgt;

List of Database Incarnations

DB Key Inc Key DB Name DB ID CUR Reset SCN Reset Time
------- ------- ------- ------ --- ---------- ----------
1 2 TRGT 1224038686 NO 1 02-JUL-01
1 582 TRGT 1224038686 YES 59727 10-JUL-01
You can access the same information by querying V$DATABASE_INCARNATION in the
target database and RC_DATABASE_INCARNATION in the recovery catalog database.