smartdba — your power solution for database backup ......database platforms: oracle, microsoft sql...

SmartDBA — Your Power Solution forDatabase Backup & Recovery

W H I T E P A P E R

Today's Intelligent Choice for Data Assurance

database platforms: Oracle, Microsoft SQLServer, IBM DB2 Universal Database, andSybase.

This paper addresses how DBAs can use SQL-BackTrack™, the cornerstone of the SmartDBArecovery solution, to automate and simplify therecovery process and assure high dataavailability and integrity.

FAST, EFFICIENT BACKUP ANDRECOVERY

To assure reliability of your database systems,SQL-BackTrack offers an intelligent, high-performance solution that simplifies andautomates database administration tasksassociated with backup and recovery. For DBAsof all experience levels, the product is easy toinstall, implement, and use.

By using intelligent, database-aware backup andrecovery operations, SQL-BackTrackautomatically adapts to changes in a database'sphysical design, recovers from logical data errorsas well as physical outages with no applicationdown time, and automates disaster recoveryactions. Only SQL-BackTrack offers acoordinated, predictable backup and recoverystrategy across multiple DBMSs, operatingsystems, and storage systems.

The remainder of this paper describes key SQL-BackTrack functionality: archive logmanagement, guided recovery, logicalextraction, simplified backup management,catalog architecture, efficient backups, versioncontrol, large-scale backups, restartability,process monitoring and integration with storagemanagement systems. The paper concludeswith five customer case studies.

TODAY’S INTELLIGENT CHOICE FORDATA ASSURANCE

Increasing business pressures challengedatabase administrators (DBAs) to ensuredatabase availability 24 hours a day, 365 days ayear. Technology-dependent businesses requirethat more data be delivered to more people withmore speed, reliability, and performance thanever before. Down time is expensive and simplynot tolerated in today's competitiveenvironment.

Yet, in spite of your best management efforts,database failures do occur—human error,electrical outages, or other unplanned events areunavoidable. When a problem arises, DBAsneed database tools that quickly and accuratelybring the database back online and restore it toits fully functional state. And as more companiesuse multiple database platforms, DBAs needintegrated, consistent solutions that work acrossheterogeneous database systems, rather thandatabase-specific utilities.

Pre-packaged point products simply cannothandle today's availability demands andheterogeneous environments. For example, anOracle DBA may have built-in Oracle utilities athis disposal that can do simple point-of-failurebackup on an Oracle database, but these toolslack the intelligence to manage application anddisaster recovery and do not support mixeddatabase environments.

SmartDBA from BMC Software gives DBAs anintelligent solution that simplifies databasebackup and recovery, advises DBAs on keyissues, and executes operations quickly toensure high data availability. SmartDBA providesconsistent management for Unix and MicrosoftWindows NT operating systems across all major

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B A C K U P & R E C O V E RY

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A R C H I V E L O G M A N A G E M E N T

Because many companies require point-in-timerecovery, they must run their databases inARCHIVELOG mode. If the file system to whichthe archive logs are being written fills up, thedatabase will crash. It is extremely important tomanage archive log destinations to prevent thisfrom happening. To prevent outages, DBAs arerequired to both continuously monitor availabledisk space and initiate backup operations as diskspace limits are approached or to write scripts toperform these tasks.

SQL-BackTrack relieves DBAs from theresponsibility of monitoring archive logs. DBAscan define thresholds beyond which SQL-BackTrack automatically backs up archive logsand then removes or renames them.

SQL-BackTrack also provides sophisticatedarchive log recovery. For sites with largetransaction volumes, it might not be possible torestore all archive logs to disk prior to recovery ifthe total volume of archive logs exceeds thespace available. SQL-BackTrack restores files inbatches and applies them in a rolling fashion,ensuring that recovery remains possible nomatter how many archive logs need to berestored.

SQL-BackTrack manages archive logs during thebackup and recovery process.

G U I D E D R E C O V E R Y

When a database recovery is required, DBAsare faced with several difficult tasks:

� Analyze—Determine what went wrong andwhat objects need to be recovered

� Source—Locate all appropriate backup filesrequired to perform the recovery

� Prepare—Decide where and how to restorefrom a backup

� Restore—Copy all appropriate database filesfrom the backup location to disk

� Recover—Perform the actual databaserecovery (step-by-step procedure)

� Restart—Reset the log if needed, start thedatabase, and perform a new backup

The tasks differ greatly from one recovery to thenext. For example, in the case of an incompleterecovery, the DBA must manually determine thetime, SCN, or log sequence number to use forthe recovery. After the recovery, the DBA mustremember to open the database with theRESETLOGS option and then do an immediatedatabase backup. Choosing the right approachin the middle of a stressful recovery can be verydifficult. Even an experienced DBA could havedifficulty performing these complex, manualtasks under time pressure.

To reduce errors and ease stress, the exclusiveguided recovery feature SQL-BackTrack's greatlysimplifies recovery tasks as follows:

� Detects missing data files, control files, onlineredo logs, parameter files, or data files

� Presents options appropriate for the situationand allowing the DBA to select from theavailable recovery types

� Issues all Oracle Server Manager commandsrequired to implement the recovery

� Restores the database files, prompting toload media when necessary

� Restores and applies archive logs� Brings the database online

SQL-BackTrack makes complex recoveries fast,simple, and error-free.

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L O G I C A L E X T R A C T I O N

Except in cases of outright system failure, fulldatabase recoveries are rare. The most commonreason for a recovery is human error such asaccidental deletion of data or accidentaldropping of schema objects.

To enable fast recoveries from these less thancatastrophic failures, SQL-BackTrack supportsrecovery at the object level. Individual tablescan be recovered from a physical backup, withsome or all of their data. SQL-BackTrack fullyautomates the procedure and makes it possibleto recover virtually any table to any point intime.

Even non-data objects such as storedprocedures can be recovered. In a processcalled logical extraction, SQL-BackTrack extractsthese logical objects from physical backups.DBAs use this feature during actual recoveries,and also as a convenient way to copy or moveobjects between instances, make utility copies ofdata, and so on. Logical extraction is a featurethat can be used all day, every day.

SQL-BackTrack makes logical extractionautomated and convenient.

B A C K U P M A N A G E M E N T

SQL-BackTrack allows DBAs to select fromseveral backup types:

� Database, tablespace, data file, archive log,or control file

� Physical or logical� Full or incremental� Open or closed� Consistent or inconsistent

DBAs can also specify backup expiration policiesthat retire backups after a set number of days orcopies. All of these features are availablethrough both a simple menu-driven interface andan optional command-line interface.

SQL-BackTrack simplifies backup managementand increases DBA productivity.

C A T A L O G A R C H I T E C T U R E

To accommodate growth and assure recovery,SQL-BackTrack records backup history anddatabase structure information in a recoverycatalog, a set of flat files local to the databaseserver. SQL-BackTrack manages this catalogwithout DBA intervention. For example, if adatabase is expanded to use an additional datafile, the SQL-BackTrack catalog is automaticallyupdated with the new data file information atthe beginning of the next backup operation.Because catalog files are local to each databaseserver machine, they can be included in thesame file system backup as the actual database,guaranteeing synchronization of the catalog anddatabase backup files.

SQL-BackTrack features a simple, yet robust,catalog architecture.


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E F F I C I E N T B A C K U P S

At a file level, databases are optimized foraccess, not storage efficiency, so they can bevery resource-intensive to back up and recover.SQL-BackTrack uses advanced compressiontechniques to reduce the time, networkresources, and storage resources needed forbackup and recovery operations.

SQL-BackTrack minimizes backup size byexcluding never-used blocks from backups.SQL-BackTrack also compresses data contentbefore directing data to the storagemanagement layer. SQL-BackTrack achieves atleast a 3:1 compression ratio. The result issmaller backup files, reduced mediarequirements, and faster backups, especiallywhen backups are written across a network toremote storage devices.

SQL-BackTrack efficiently uses limited staff timeand resources.

A S S U R E D V E R S I O N

BMC Software believes that you should not haveto manage your management tools, so SQL-BackTrack is simple to deploy and maintain. It isinstalled as a single set of native executables oneach database server,so components do not get"out of sync" with each other. When an urgentrecovery becomes necessary the DBA is assuredthat SQL-BackTrack is ready to roll.

With SQL-BackTrack, you can install it andforget about it

E N T E R P R I S E S N A P S H O T

There are typically two forms of backups—hotand cold—both of which disrupt normaloperations. Hot backups require a database tobe in backup mode, resulting in performancedegradation for applications that are accessing

the database. Cold backups require thedatabase to be offline and unavailable toapplications for several hours on end. Either way,the backup is disruptive to business operationsbecause the database is unavailable tocustomers or it is available with markedperformance degradation for a prolonged periodof time.

To remedy this situation SQL-BackTrack offersthe unique Enterprise Snapshot capability. WithEnterprise Snapshot, DBAs can save precioustime by taking a logical snapshot of a databaseat a point in time and then taking a backup fromthat copy rather than from the live database.

SQL-BackTrack for Oracle uses snapshottechnology in two ways:

� Hardware snapshot - If intelligent storagedevices (ISDs) such as Hitachi 7700E orHewlett-Packard XP256 are configured withinthe environment, Enterprise Snapshotexploits the mirroring capabilities of thestorage device to create a point-in-timeimage of the database from which to performbackups.

� Software snapshot - If no ISDs are configuredwithin the environment, SQL-BackTrack withEnterprise Snapshot uses proprietary BMCSoftware snapshot technology to create apoint-in-time image of the database fromwhich to perform backups.


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Performing backups with SQL-BackTrack forOracle - Enterprise Snapshot Edition offers theseadvantages:

� Enables near 24x7 database availability� Shrinks the backup window to a very short

time period� Stretches the batch window or adds hours to

the online day� Exploits advanced technology already in

place by using both software and hardwaresnapshot technology to ensure valid backupswhile maintaining database availability

� Improves recovery time by eliminating theneed to apply transaction logs to recover tothe point-in-time (snapshot) copy of thedatabase.

Enterprise Snapshot allows cold backups to bemade in minutes instead of hours. Hot backupsexperience substantially reduced time that each

tablespace must spend in backup mode tominutes, or even seconds, greatly improvingperformance during the backup.

SQL-BackTrack - Enterprise Snapshot Editionsaves time, conserves space, and maintainsdatabase performance during large-scalebackups.

R E S T A R T A B I L I T Y

Backup and recovery operations can fail for anynumber of reasons-missing media, insufficientdisk space, hardware outages-but SQL-BackTrackinsulates DBAs from the full impact of thesefailures by allowing processes to restart from thepoint of failure, rather than requiring processesto be rerun from the first step. During a time-critical recovery operation, this capability cangreatly reduce the total time to recovery.

SQL-BackTrack provides granular control of therestart process.


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Enterprise Snapshot delivers nondisruptive database backups, significantly reducing the impact of backups.

R E A L - T I M E M O N I T O R I N G

To provide full visibility and control, SQL-BackTrack allows DBAs to monitor thecompletion status of its current processes. Thisfeedback can be very useful for schedulingbackups or tracking percentage-completeprogress during a time-critical recovery.

SQL-BackTrack tracks the execution status ofcurrent processes.

I N T E G R A T I O N W I T H S T O R A G EM A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M S A N DB A C K U P C L O N I N G

BMC Software understands the importance ofcomplete integration with your current storageenvironment. Open Backup Stream InterfaceModules™ (OBSI Modules) enable physicalbackups and exports directly to tape, magneticdisk, and various third-party storagemanagement systems such as VERITASNetBackup, Legato NetWorker, and TivoliStorage Manager (TSM). OBSI Modules areavailable from BMC Software and from

third-party developers who are part of the BMCSoftware OBSI Partner Program. In addition,SQL-BackTrack offers full integration with third-party scheduling products, allowing you togenerate standard operating-system scripts forbackup and recovery.

Even though database backup and recovery is aDBA responsibility, DBAs in most organizationshave to rely on a separate storage team toadminister the storage-management subsystem.

What happens if a database recovery is urgentlyneeded, but the storage system is offline or hashad its own disaster? The backup cloning inSQL-BackTrack helps DBAs avoid this problem.During recovery, SQL-BackTrack can dynamicallyswitch to a secondary copy if a primary devicefails or is offline. It is easy to configure, andDBAs can make as many copies from one readas they want. For example, one copy can go toTivoli Storage Manager and another copy can bedirected to disk.

SQL-BackTrack integrates with storagemanagers and optimizes database availabilitywith cloning.


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SQL-BackTrack Architecture

CUSTOMER CASE STUDIES

Now that we have outlined the numerousfeatures and benefits of SQL-BackTrack and theSmartDBA Recovery Solution, it is important todemonstrate how these were used to addressreal situations.

CASE 1: AN OIL AND GAS COMPANYMERGER

A large oil and gas company recently acquiredseveral large companies and is merging theinformation systems of each of these companies.They have legacy systems to maintain, and theymust consolidate systems that are on multipledatabase platforms, multiple releases ofsoftware, multiple releases of tools, and multiplehardware platforms. Keeping track of all theseelements is a big challenge, and so is backupand recovery. The average DBA has experiencewith two or three platforms. What criteria did they use in choosing tools tomanage this complex environment? Theylooked for tools that can be used by the widestrange of people and that work across platforms.

They chose PATROL® and SQL-BackTrack fromBMC Software, which are both available forOracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase, DB2Universal Database, and Informix.

PATROL enhances the contribution and value ofthe database administration group byautomating critical but routine administrativefunctions and spotlighting the informationnecessary to make faster, better decisions. SQL-BackTrack simplifies and automates manydatabase administration tasks associated withbackup and recovery. It speeds up the recoveryprocess and saves time for DBAs, increasingproductivity on day-to-day tasks.

CASE 2: A FINANCIAL SERVICESCOMPANY WITH SYBASE, ORACLEAND TIVOLI STORAGE MANAGER

A large financial company running both Sybaseand Oracle uses Tivoli Storage Manager. SQL-BackTrack has allowed them to implement anenterprise backup and recovery strategy becauseit supports both Oracle and Sybase.


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Backup cloning eliminates the backup storage medium as a single point of failure

Because one DBA can support both Sybase andOracle backup and recovery, the staff is moreefficient and flexible. The use of SQL-BackTrackhas also enabled integration with Tivoli StorageManager, without the need for a TSMadministrator.

CASE 3: AN INVESTMENT BANKINGFIRM COPING WITH DISASTER

When a disaster wiped out the data center at alarge investment-banking firm, the company wasable to use SQL-BackTrack to bring theirenvironment back on line with zero data lossfrom their databases. SQL-BackTrack minimizesdown time by simplifying the entire recoveryprocess. It restored database files and actuallyguided the DBA through every step of therecovery process while automatically detectingand restoring all missing files.

CASE 4: A TECHNOLOGY COMPANYRECOVERING ORACLE DATABASES

A large technology company runs numerousOracle databases. The manager of the DBAgroup has years of experience with Oracle andhas even attended Oracle backup and recoverytraining. Until using SQL-BackTrack for Oracle,however, he was never able to successfullyrecover a database that was missing control filesand system files. With SQL-BackTrack forOracle, he has successfully performed a fullrecovery as well as a point-in-time recovery. Henow has confidence that he can perform arecovery in the event of a disaster.

CASE 5: A PUBLIC UTILITYDIVERSIFYING

A large public utility is splitting into twocompanies-one regulated and the otherderegulated. The new deregulated company isstarting nearly from the ground up on theirdatabase systems, and they are challenged withinherited legacy systems in production. They donot plan on standardizing their databaseplatforms, so it is critical that they implement asolution that works consistently across theplatforms. In addition, they have very largesystems to back up and recover and require asolution that provides maximum availability,performance, and scalability. They chose SQL-Backtrack because it delivers rapid databaserecovery through right sizing-that is performingthe smallest, most efficient recovery possible.


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S U M M A R Y

One of the major benefits of SQL-BackTrack isthe way that database recoveries are performed.SQL-BackTrack automatically analyzes thesystem, asks questions, monitors the progress,and generates the proper commands to performthe recovery. If the recovery halts, for example,because a tape drive has jammed or a cable wasloose, it can be automatically resumed withouthaving to repeat the entire procedure.

Native utilities can provide basic capabilities, butthey require an experienced DBA to perform arecovery. With these utilities, the DBA must firstexamine the system and determine which partsare damaged or missing and then enter theproper database commands to perform therecovery. This manual process is tedious andtime-consuming, and it is completelyunnecessary when using SQL-BackTrack.

Although experienced DBAs might be able toaccomplish backups and recoveries using nativeutilities, the time, effort, and expertise requiredyou are great because the DBA must select thestep-by-step procedure that best fits a givenrecovery situation and know the requiredcommand syntax.

SQL-BackTrack is a proven backup and recoverysolution that works in the real world. DBAs of allskill levels can immediately use its simple, menu-driven interface. Its unique guided recoveryprocess helps DBAs to select a recovery processand then automates the recovery process-preventing manual errors and false starts.

With the most critical database administrationtime savings occurring during the recoveryprocess, SQL-BackTrack can perform recoveriestwo to five times faster than with other methodsand in many cases without an applicationoutage. Part of the SmartDBA family ofproducts, SQL-BackTrack enables you to workfaster, easier, and smarter.


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To learn more aboutSmartDBA data managementproducts for distributed andmainframe databasesystems, visit our Web siteat www.bmc.com/database.

BMC Software, the BMC Software logos and all other BMC Software product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of BMCSoftware, Inc. All other registered trademarks or trademarks belong to their respective companies. ©2003 BMC Software, Inc. All rights reserved.26977 May 2, 2003

BMC Software, Inc. is a leadingprovider of enterprise managementsolutions. The company focuses onAssuring Business Availability® forits customers by helping themproactively improve service, reducecosts and increase value to theirbusiness. BMC Software solutionsspan enterprise systems, applications anddatabases. Founded in 1980, BMCSoftware has

smartdba — your power solution for database backup ......database platforms: oracle, microsoft sql...

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