Protect and recover Oracle databases in a Windows environment

Before you begin

Before you can discover, protect, and mount Oracle databases in a Windows environment, be sure to check the following:

Check the following settings on the database server:
1. The Oracle database and the Oracle Listener are up and running (check Windows services).
2. Confirm that there is a tns entry with the name SID. The file tnsnames.ora is under
```
%ORACLE_HOME%\network\admin
```
3. Verify tns entry is valid by running:
```
%ORACLE_HOME%\bin\tnsping <SID>
```
Check if the log mode is set to Archive Log mode:
```
sql> archive log list
```
If the database is in no-archive log mode, then return it to archive log mode:

Note: This will take down the database.
```
sql> shutdown immediate;
sql> startup mount;
sql> alter database archivelog;
sql> alter database open;
```
Enable database change block tracking. With database BCT off, incremental backup time is impacted. Change block tracking feature is available in Oracle Enterprise Edition. Run a SQL query to check that change block tracking is enabled. Run the query:
```
sqlplus / as sysdba
sql> select * from v$block_change_tracking;
```

To enable change block tracking:

    sql> alter database enable block change tracking
    using file '<Oracle home directory>\orcl.bct';

Back up an Oracle database in a Windows environment

To back up an Oracle database in a Windows environment, follow these steps:

Set the Application Details & Settings for Oracle Databases.
Apply a backup plan to protect the database.

Known issue

Oracle 19c SQLPlus (sqlplus.exe) occasionally hangs on Windows when executing exit command (Doc ID 2820655.1). This bug is specific to Windows. Oracle has confirmed that this issue occurs in SQLPlus versions 19.10, 19.11 and 19.12. Oracle provided these solutions:

Use SQL*Plus 21.1 or later (or)
Apply patch:31466370. This patch is available for 19.11 and 19.13.

Recover Oracle databases in a Windows environment manually using RMAN to a scheduled backup point if the archivelog is not protected through Backup and DR

To recover an entire Oracle database in a Windows environment:

Mount the database backup snapshot from Backup and DR back to the Oracle server as detailed in Mount an Oracle database as a standard mount.
Set the database environment and start the database in no-mount state using the parameter file from the Backup and DR mounted volume (for example for a mounted database volume to E:):
```
sqlplus / as sysdba
sql> startup nomount pfile='E:\<sid>___backup.ora';
```

Create spfile from pfile:

sql> create spfile='%ORACLE_HOME%\database\spfile<sid>.ora'
from pfile='E:\<sid>___backup.ora';

Start the database with spfile in the nomount state:
```
sql> shutdown immediate;
sql> startup nomount;
```

Restore the control file using RMAN from the Backup and DR mounted volume:

rman target /
rman> restore controlfile from 'E:\cf-D_<sid>-id_<id>.ctl';

Mount the database:
```
rman> alter database mount;
```

Catalog the datafile and the archive file folder from the Backup and DR mounted volume to RMAN:

rman> run
{
catalog start with 'E:\datafile' noprompt;
catalog start with 'E:\archivelog' noprompt;
}

Restore and recover the database:

rman> run
{
restore database;
recover database;
}

Open the database with reset log option:
```
rman> alter database open resetlogs;
```

Recover Oracle databases in a Windows environment manually using RMAN to a scheduled backup point with roll-forward of Backup and DR-protected archivelog

Mount the image from the source database server to recover. Mount the backup snapshot from Backup and DR back to the Oracle server as detailed in Mount an Oracle database as a standard mount.
Set the database environment and start the database in no-mount state using the parameter file from the Backup and DR mounted volume. In this example, the database backup image will be mounted at: E:\ and the protected archive log will be mounted at: Z:.
```
   sqlplus / as sysdba
```
```
   startup nomount pfile='E:\<sid>___backup.ora';
```

Create spfile from pfile:

sql> create spfile='%ORACLE_HOME%\database\spfile<sid>.ora' from
pfile='E:\<sid>___backup.ora';

Start the database with spfile in the nomount state:
```
```sql
shutdown immediate;
startup nomount;
```
```
Restore the control file using RMAN from the Backup and DR mounted archive log image:
```
rman target /
rman> restore controlfile from 'Z:\cf-D_<sid>-id_<id>.ctl';
```
Mount the database:
```
rman> alter database mount;
```

Catalog the datafile and archivelog folder from Backup and DR mounted database image and archive log image to RMAN:

rman> run
{
catalog start with 'E:\datafile' noprompt;
catalog start with 'E:\archivelog' noprompt;
catalog start with 'Z:\archivelog' noprompt;
}

Restore and recover the database:

rman> run
{
restore database;
recover database;
}

For a specific point in time recovery run the recover command as below:

rman> run
 {
  restore database;
  recover database until time "to_date('<desired
time stamp>','yyyymmddhh24mi')";
 }

Open the database with reset log option:
```
rman> alter database open resetlogs;
```
The database is available for read and write.

Watch Script to Watch for Database Volumes Being Mounted

If you create an application-aware mount, then you can use a watch script to show the volumes being mounted from Backup and DR, and the Oracle processes running. Application-aware mounts are described in Mounting an Oracle Database as a Virtual Application.

When performing an application-aware mount, you can use this watch script. The script location must be: C:\Program Files\Backup and DR\scripts. Scripts run on Windows hosts must be .bat or .vbs files.

    @echo off
    :loop
    echo. > watchtemp
    echo ------------------ >> watchtemp
    echo  Oracle Processes >> watchtemp
    echo ------------------ >> watchtemp
    tasklist /svc | findstr oracle >> watchtemp
    echo. >> watchtemp
    echo ------------------ >> watchtemp
    echo   Backup and DR Mounts >> watchtemp
    echo ------------------ >> watchtemp
    wmic volume get label, name | findstr Backup and DR >> watchtemp
    echo. >> watchtemp
    cls
    type watchtemp
    timeout 2 > null
    goto loop

Which produces output like this:

    Oracle Processes
    ------------------
    oracle.exe                    1492 OracleServiceORCL
    oracle.exe                    3768 OracleServiceTestDB
    oracle.exe                     872 OracleServiceTestDB2
    ------------------
      Backup and DR Mounts
    ------------------
    Backup and DR-Backup-ORCL    D:\mount_1