Oracle databases vary in size, scope, and complexity, but will always need data protection tailored to meet their specific needs. NetBackup already has a rich selection of Oracle protection strategies, with new features now available for more flexibility.
Write Oracle database backups directly to your deduplication pool
In order to reduce resource contention and meet business objectives for Oracle database data protection, a simple solution is needed that keeps everyone satisfied. RMAN alone can be complex and hard for the backup team to consume, yet NetBackup provides elegant image management and meets the entire organization’s business needs. To get the best of both worlds with this simple and powerful feature, you can ingest images directly to a Media Server Deduplication Pool (MSDP) for uninterrupted data flow, client-side deduplication, and the power of RMAN without giving up any NetBackup image management with Oracle Deduplication Direct.
You can leverage an existing MSDP to easily capture Oracle backups, even when the primary server is unreachable. This allows for flexibility is segmented networks, firewalled situations, and primary server maintenance outages. You can also benefit from client-side deduplication here with less data traversing the network during the database backup. NetBackup for Oracle Deduplication Direct works with only a lightweight plug-in and doesn’t require the install of the full NetBackup client. The Deduplication Direct plug-in is installed using the Oracle user, so there is no need for any root access on the database host and no compromise to your security posture.
Setup is simple. Create a new user in MSDP for this feature. The lightweight plug-in is quick to install on the Oracle host, and then you set the appropriate environment variables to leverage in an RMAN script.
The plug-in writes directly to the MSDP storage, meaning that the primary server will simply import the image after it completes. Additionally, the image can also be managed by a Storage Lifecycle Policy (SLP) to satisfy any image resiliency requirements. The image is in the NetBackup catalog, and the RMAN catalog is maintained. NetBackup for Oracle Deduplication Direct also works in reverse, allowing the Oracle DBA to self-serve their own restores from any backup. NetBackup for Oracle Deduplication Direct backups can also use a traditional restore workflow.
Universal Shares for Oracle is the next evolution of NetBackup Copilot™
NetBackup Copilot™ for Oracle is a very attractive solution for DBAs. It is a feature-rich, efficient solution that integrated components of NetBackup, Oracle RMAN, and the NetBackup Appliance to manage database backups. Veritas has now made it even better and easier to use as Universal Shares for Oracle.
Universal Shares for Oracle brings more robust and broader implementation options that remove the previous limitations of NetBackup Copilot™ for Oracle. By leveraging Universal Shares, this feature is no longer exclusive to NetBackup Appliances, reduces the need for extra data movement and can be consumed in all form factors where Universal Shares are supported. With Media Server Deduplication Pool (MSDP) support behind Universal Shares, you simplify the storage footprint as well without the need for a dedicated partition.
Existing Copilot implementations and new databases can easily migrate and use to this new feature by simply setting up Universal Shares. Universal Shares for Oracle augments the existing Oracle Intelligent Policy features, benefitting from any Universal Share in NetBackup, Flex, and Flex Scale with the power of Incremental Merge. Create a new Universal Share on your desired platform and mount the share as a location for the database backup on the host. Then modify your existing Intelligent Policies to use this new mount point with the “Whole database - Datafile copy share” option.
Through the NetBackup WebUI, these modern protection strategies are seamlessly unified for Oracle data protection. Universal Shares for Oracle open another powerful feature up to a mission critical workload. Improve resiliency for your RMAN implementation and write directly to MSDP storage with NetBackup Deduplication Direct for Oracle.
