User Guide - Preparing your environment for successful Druva Oracle PBS backup

►1. What is Oracle server?

Oracle Corporation created the widely used Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), known as Oracle. It's designed to store, manage, and retrieve data efficiently, making it a fundamental component of many enterprise-level applications and systems. Here are some of its various components:
Instance: An Oracle instance is the software and memory structures that manage database operations.
Database: The database itself is a collection of physical files on the disk that store data. It includes data files, control files, and redo log files.
SQL (Structured Query Language) is the language used to interact with an Oracle database. Users and applications issue SQL statements to query and manipulate data.
Listener: The Oracle Listener is a process that listens for incoming client connection requests and establishes a connection between clients and the Oracle database.
Oracle Net Services: It provides network communication services for Oracle Database. It includes protocols and tools for connecting to the database from different locations.
Redo Log Files: These files store a record of all changes made to the database. They are crucial for recovery in the event of system failures.
Control Files: Control files contain metadata about the physical structure of the database. They are critical for database startup and recovery.
Archived Redo Logs: These are copies of the redo log files that have been archived. They are used for backup and recovery purposes.
Backup and Recovery Components: Oracle includes various tools and utilities for creating backups and recovering data in case of data loss or system failures. These include RMAN (Recovery Manager) and Data Pump.

►2. Why perform a Oracle database backup?

Protect your data from accidents, mistakes, or computer problems.
Ensure you can recover your data if something bad happens, like a computer crash or a disaster like a fire or flood.
Keep old data for analyzing trends or reporting.
Increase security by having a safe copy of your data even if someone tries to steal it.

►3. What does Druva back up from Oracle Servers?

Druva radically simplifies the backup and recovery of Oracle databases hosted on on-premise physical and virtual infrastructure, as well as cloud infrastructure such as Amazon EC2, Azure VMs, Google Compute Engines, and so on.
Druva allows you to back up and recover the following databases running on the Oracle Server hosts:
- Standalone databases
- RAC(Real Application Cluster) databases

►4. What is the Phoenix Backup Store (PBS)?

The Phoenix Backup Store is an Ubuntu-based NAS device with the Druva-provided Phoenix Backup Store Debian package installed on it.
After the administrators set up the NAS device, install the Debian package, and activate the Debian package on the device,
- The NAS device is configured as a Phoenix Backup Store
- It is registered with Druva
- creates a persistent connection with the Druva Cloud
When an administrator adds a backup mount on the Management Console, it is created on the Phoenix Backup Store as a shared directory over the network.
The shared directory serves as the mount point, and the Oracle Database Administrator has to map it to the host where RMAN is running.
When a backup job is run using RMAN, it creates an Oracle RMAN backup and stores it on the backup mount. The RMAN requires read and write permissions on the backup mount.

►5. What are RMAN Hosts?

The backup and restore of Oracle databases is handled using an Oracle-provided backup and recovery manager called RMAN.
RMAN provides utilities to Oracle Database Administrators to run backup jobs of databases and create Oracle RMAN backups.
The RMAN is connected to the databases, and a database administrator runs a backup job using it.
The host on which the RMAN is running is called the RMAN host, and the backup mount is mapped to the host.
After a backup job is run, RMAN creates an Oracle RMAN backup and stores it on the backup mount.

►6. What is the Oracle database backup workflow? What are the types of backup methods?

For more information on the database backup workflow, (Click here)
Type of database backup method:
- Full backup
- Incremental backup
- Archive Log backup

►7. What are the the prerequisites ?

Prerequisites for Phoenix Backup Store (PBS) (Link)
System requirements for Oracle Server (Link)

►8. Where should I download the Oracle PBS from?

You can download the Windows installer using one of the following three methods:
- Downloads Page
- Settings Page
- Management Console -> Protect -> Oracle -> Phoenix Backup Store -> Register New PBS

►9. How do I install an Oracle PBS?

There are three ways to install Oracle PBS

Note: Once installed, verify that the Phoenix service is in running mode using below command (systemctl status: PhoenixOracle)

►10. How do I activate an Oracle PBS?

The step-by-step process is outlined in the Activation article.
Command: PhoenixBackupStoreControl activate <activation_token>
Once activated, the server is listed on the Phoenix Backup Store page.
(Management Console -> Protect->Oracle > Phoenix Backup Store->Oracle Servers)

►11. How do I configure Oracle Database backups in Druva?

The step-by-step detailed process (Link).

Create a backup mount on the registered Phoenix Backup Store.
Map the backup mount on the RMAN host.
- Map the mount to the RMAN hosted on a Linux server.
- Map the mount to the RMAN hosted on a Windows server.
Let RMAN store backups on the mount.
- Run the script on a Linux server.
- Run the batch file on a Windows server.

►12. What are the prerequisites before you start a backup of configured Oracle Database backup?

Connection
- Verify the connection between the server and Druva.
- Below are the additional commands to verify
- Windows:
  - Verify if the client for NFS is running or not.
  - Try telnet from DB windows server to below ports
    - telnet <PBS-Server Name/PBS-server IP> 2049
    - telnet <PBS-Server Name/PBS-server IP> 9090
    - telnet <PBS-Server Name/PBS-server IP> 111
  - Try mounting the PBS mount to Windows server manually with root credentials (this is how you map the network share to the Windows server).
- Linux:
  - Try telent from DB Linux server to below ports
    - telnet <PBS-Server Name/PBS-server IP> 2049
    - telnet <PBS-Server Name/PBS-server IP> 9090
    - telnet <PBS-Server Name/PBS-server IP> 111
  - Verify if the PBS mount is mounted or not on the Linux DB server.
    - # df -h
  - Verify the PBS mount details in FS tab entries.
    - # cat /etc/fstab
Service
- The Phoenix service should be in Running mode (systemctl status PhoenixBackupStore)
- The NFS service should be in Running mode (systemctl status nfs-kernel-server)
- The Zpool should be in Running mode (systemctl status zpools status)
- If it is not running, then use start or restart instead of status in above command to start or restart it. E.g (systemctl start PhoenixOracle) or (systemctl restart PhoenixOracle)
UI Status
- The status of the Oracle PBS on Druva console should show as “Connected”.
UI
- Do not cancel the job as
- The first backup job will take time, - will do a Full scan of the data.
- The first job will run until it is completed (It will not honor the Backup Window).

►13. How do I run a backup of configured Oracle Databases?

Backup Oracle databases using RMAN hosted on a Linux server
- Update and run the RMAN scripts provided by Druva that use the Phoenix Backup Store API to backup databases.
- For more information on how this script uses the Phoenix Backup Store API to backup and store Oracle RMAN backups on the backup mount, see Phoenix Backup Store API reference.
Backup Oracle databases using RMAN hosted on a Windows server
- Update and run the RMAN script and a template batch file provided by Druva that uses the Phoenix Backup Store API to backup databases.
- For more information on how this batch file uses the Phoenix Backup Store API to backup and store Oracle RMAN backups on the backup mount, see Phoenix Backup Store API reference.
The scripts can be automated with the help of cron jobs in the Linux OS and task schedulers in the Windows OS.

►14. What are commonly encountered issues with Druva Oracle PBS during backup?

►15. Do / Don’ts for Oracle database backup

PBS is only used for RMAN backups configured for Druva.
It should not be used as an NFS server.
Do not install any third party applications; it should only use Druva Backups.
Do not copy or delete any data manually on PBS mounts.
Do not configure multiple databases for a single mount point; one mount is used for only one database. If you want to protect five databases, you should configure five mount points on PBS.
Do not edit the entries manually on etc/exports, whenever you create a mount, use scripts to add the entries as shown below.
Script location on PBS::/opt/Druva/Phoenix/PhoenixBackupStore/bin
Copy all the scripts to your RMAN host/DB server
Run script on the RMAN host with the IP address of the Phoenix Backup Store server and backup mount name as the parameters.
Run the script as:
phoenix_get_mount_details.sh <Phoenix-Backup-Store-ip-address> <backup-mount-name>
For example:
phoenix_get_mount_details.sh 192.0.2.1 testmount
The output of the phoenix_get_mount_details.sh script is the path to the backup mount. You have to map the backup mount to the RMAN host so that when you run a backup job using the RMAN script, the RMAN can store the Oracle RMAN backup on the backup mount.
Sample output of the phoenix_get_mount_details.sh script:
Remote mountpath is 192.0.2.1:/Phoenix/testmount/oracle_data
Mount options : retrans:5,timeo:1200, rw, user

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