Veritas Storage Foundation™ 5.0.1 for Oracle RAC Installation, Configuration, and Administrator's Guide Extracts for the HP Serviceguard Storage Management Suite on HP-UX 11i v3

NOTE: For SGeRAC database, when you issue the commands, replace $ORACLE_SID with
$ORACLE_SID=instance_name and provide the instance name on which the instance is
running.
Solving Typical Database Problems with Database FlashSnap
Database FlashSnap is designed to enable you to use database snapshots to overcome the following
types of problems encountered in enterprise database environments:
• 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.
Database FlashSnap allows you to check the storage setup against requirements set forth in the
snapplan. Depending on the results, the database administrator may need to modify the snapplan
or the system administrator may need to adjust the storage configuration. Properly configuring
50 Using FlashSnap for Backup and Recovery