Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
How It Works
If you have a good backup of your database, it's fairly simple to use RMAN to restore and recover your database.
By default, RMAN uses information stored in the control file to determine where to retrieve backups and which files to
restore and recover.
Restore and recovery are two separate steps. Restore is the process of copying back data files from the backup
files. Recovery is the process of applying transaction information (contained in either the online redo logs or archive
redo logs) to the data files to recover them to the state they were in just before the failure occurred.
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Restore and recovery are analogous to the healing process when you break a bone. Restoring is similar to
the process of setting the broken bone back to its original position. This is like restoring the data files from a backup and
placing them in their original locations. Recovering a data file is similar to the healing process that recovers the bone
back to its state before it was broken. When you recover your data files, you apply transactions (stored in the redo files)
to get the data files back to the state they were in before the media failure took place.
Tip
RMAN ships with practical default values that allow you to use it immediately to back up, restore, and recover
your database. Although these default settings are reasonable, you'll want to read the subsequent chapters in this
topic for best practices on how to configure RMAN for an industrial-strength backup and recovery strategy.
