VERITAS FlashSnap Point-In-Time-Copy Solutions Administrator's Guide

Creating Storage Checkpoints
62 VERITAS FlashSnap Point-In-Time Copy Solutions Administrator’s Guide
Creating Storage Checkpoints
To create storage checkpoints, select 3 Storage Checkpoint Administration > Create
New Storage Checkpoints in the VxDBA utility. This can be done with a database either
online or offline.
Note To create a Storage Checkpoint while the database is online, ARCHIVELOG mode must be
enabled in Oracle. During the creation of the Storage Checkpoint, the tablespaces are placed
in backup mode. Because it only takes a few seconds to take a Storage Checkpoint, the extra
redo logs generated while the tablespaces are in online backup mode are very small. To
optimize recovery, it is recommended that you keep ARCHIVELOG mode enabled.
Caution Changes to the structure of a database, such as the addition or removal of datafiles,
make Storage Rollback impossible if they are made after a Storage Checkpoint was
taken. A backup copy of the control file for the database is saved under the
/etc/vx/vxdba/ORACLE_SID/checkpoint_dir directory immediately after a
Storage Checkpoint is created. If necessary, you can use this file to assist with database
recovery. If possible, both an ASCII and binary copy of the control file are made, with
the binary version being compressed to conserve space. Use extreme caution if you
attempt to recover your database using these control files. It is recommended that you
remove old Storage Checkpoints and create new ones whenever you restructure a
database.
Rolling Back a Database
To roll back a database, for example, after a logical error has occurred:
1. Ensure that the database is offline. You can use the VxDBA utility to display the status of the
database and its tablespaces, and to shut down the database:
◆ Select 2 Display Database/VxDBA Information to access the menus that
display status information.
◆ Select 1 Database Administration > Shutdown Database Instance to shut
down a database.
2. Select 4 Storage Rollback Administration > Roll Back the Database to a
Storage Checkpoint in the VxDBA utility, and choose the appropriate Storage
Checkpoint. This restores all data files used by the database, except redo logs and control files,
to their state at the time that the Storage Checkpoint was made.
3. Start up, but do not open, the database instance by selecting 1 Database
Administration > Startup Database Instance in the VxDBA utility.