Free Webinar: A Revolutionary Approach to Oracle Backup

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56% of IT professionals tasked with protecting their organization’s production databases prefer built-in database utilities over backup tools.

Source: ESG Research Report, Data Protection Personas and Methods, February 2015

When it comes to database protection these days, the left hand often doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Over the years, the tools and processes that DBAs and backup admins rely on to ensure reliable data protection, timely recovery, and consistent governance have become highly fragmented. In an effort to retain some control over backup operations, many DBAs prefer the “dump-and-sweep” approach, resulting in a two-step process that requires the DBA and backup admin to perform separate tasks using their own tools and utilize a shared storage area where data is handed-off. Many DBAs prefer the dump-and-sweep approach for several reasons, including:

• Allowing the DBA to use tools they are familiar with, such as Oracle® Recovery Manager (RMAN).
• Direct access to backup copies allowing the DBA to quickly execute recovery operations without having to request assistance from the backup team.
• Control over backup schedules allowing the DBA to coordinate backups with other database maintenance tasks to avoid overloading database systems.
• Helping the DBA avoid database crashes by making sure the transaction log space is properly maintained.
• Eliminating the need to grant additional security access to the database.

Unfortunately the widespread dump-and-sweep method of database protection creates blind spots and inefficiencies that can prevent each side from understanding the complete picture and taking the best course of action. For example:

• DBAs cannot directly see or utilize older “swept” backup copies that reside off-site or on long-term storage, such as tape or cloud storage.
• Full recovery from “swept” backups requires a much slower, two-step process.
• Backup admins cannot easily verify databases are being properly protected in case of disaster or retained according to regulatory compliance requirements.
• Dump storage areas often utilize expensive, high-performance storage resources.
• Lines of accountability blur when data is lost, resulting in pervasive finger pointing.

So while the dump-and-sweep approach can be convenient and can provide a degree of independence for DBAs, there are important downsides that jeopardize the availability and integrity of database information.

Veritas NetBackup™ Copilot for Oracle®: A Revolution in Database Backup and Recovery

Veritas NetBackup™ Copilot for Oracle® integrates native Oracle tools with the backup application and purpose-built storage to create an optimized solution for the protection of Oracle that enables better collaboration between DBA and backup teams. Copilot gives confidence that the database is protected, and assures that it is safe, compliant, and accessible whenever it may be needed. There are several important elements that make this solution possible:

• NetBackup appliance storage–Utilizes a NetBackup appliance as the “landing pad” for all RMAN-directed operations, via a NFS share. Database shares can draw additional capacity on-demand from a shared pool.
• Deep Oracle RMAN catalog integration–Keeps the RMAN catalog synchronized with all NetBackup database copies available within the data lifecycle.
• Accelerator for Oracle–provides “incremental forever” backup method by leveraging Oracle® Incremental Merge technology. Full backup images are automatically synthesized and available for recovery.

By more efficiently utilizing backup storage space with a single pool of storage for all backups in the environment, NetBackup Copilot eliminates storage redundancy between native tool backup and application agent backup. This results in fewer storage locations to manage for space and access while freeing up high performance storage for production use. Because NetBackup Copilot reduces the load on the network and the Oracle database, performance is no longer impacted as heavily by increasing data volumes.

Watch the Webinar

To learn more about NetBackup Copilot for Oracle, attend this on-demand webinar: A Revolutionary Approach to Oracle Backup.

“This is a solution that connects DBAs and backup admins where they meet (or don’t) today -- and should blow many folks’ minds when they think of the potential power of the synergy. It did mine.”

Jason Buffington, Enterprise Strategy Group