Backing up an Oracle Data Guard environment

Backing up Oracle Data Guard
Once Primary and Standby instance are configured for Data Protector, it is now possible to define a
backup specification for these instances and to run online database backups.
I. Backing up the Primary database
From a Data Protector perspective, the Primary database is a normal Oracle database in status
“OPEN” and running in archive mode.
Therefore the full functionality of our Oracle Integration is available by using the Data Protector GUI
that includes browsing the database or parts of it and selecting database components for backup. It is
possible to schedule these backup specifications or to run them interactively on demand.
II. Backing up the Standby database
The major benefit of an Oracle Data Guard configuration is the possibility to offload Primary
database backups to the configured Standby database. However the Standby database is running in
status “MOUNT” and Data Protector is not able to browse it. Therefore it is not possible to configure a
backup job using the GUI. Data Protector executes the sql command below:
SQL> select tablespace_name from dba_tablespaces where rownum=1
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-01219: database not open: queries allowed on fixed tables/views only
This command fails and Data Protector returns with the error message listed in Figure 6 .
Figure 6 Data Protector error message after Standby
database browsing attempt
Î How to create a backup specification for a Standby database?
Because of the fact that Primary and Standby database have the same configuration, structure and
connection string, you can use the backup specifications of your Primary database as a template for
your Standby database and change the database references from the Primary to the Standby
database manually.
The example below explains what entries in the backup specification need to be changed.
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