RAC Database cloning with HOT Backup

Oracle Tips by Vijaya Chander July 11, 2008

Tips from the trenches by Vijaya Chander Most shops that are running 24/7 Oracle databases need production data, which needs to be periodically refreshed into development/testing/acceptance/pre-production environments for a variety of reasons such as to re-produce functional bugs, performance issues and to conduct performance testing. This article describes step by step approach to clone Oracle RAC databases using an RMAN hot backup. Steps to be conducted on Source DB Step 1: Identify number of online redo log groups available with the database using:
SQL> SELECT * FROM GV$LOGFILE;

This step is required to switch logs those many times before starting hot backup (Step 3). This will make sure that all the online redo logs are archived. For example, if you have 4 online redo log groups, switch logs 4 times. Online redo logs can be switched using:
SQL> ALTER SYSTEM SWITCH LOGFILE;

Step 2: Note the latest archive log file name from archive destination directory. Step 3: Take hot backup tablespace by tablespace, copying datafiles to desired location. Execute following script to get a spool file (hotbackup.sql), which in turn can be used to take hot backup. #############################################################################
spool hotbackup.sql DECLARE CURSOR dfiles IS SELECT tablespace_name,file_name FROM dba_data_files ORDER BY bytes DESC; BEGIN DBMS_OUTPUT.ENABLE(1000000); FOR i IN dfiles LOOP DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('alter tablespace '|| i.tablespace_name ||' begin backup;'); DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('!cp ' || i.file_name || '/u99/oradata/clone'); DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('alter tablespace ' || i.tablespace_name || ' end backup;'); END LOOP; END; spool off

############################################################################# Note: Change hot backup location "/u99/oradata/clone" used in the script as required. Take hot backup by executing the spool file.
SQL> @hotbackup.sql

Step 4: Once hot backup is complete, again switch logfiles as many number of times as those online redo log groups (same as Step 1). Step 5: Again, note the latest archive log file name from archive destination directory. Move all archive log files created during hot backup to destination DB "db_recovery_file_dest" parameter location. Step 6: Take backup of control file to trace and move it to destination DB location. This trace file contents will be used to generate new control files at destination.
SQL> ALTER DATABASE BACKUP CONTROLFILE TO TRACE;

Steps to be conducted on Destination DB

Step 7: Edit control file by removing all the statements except "CREATE CONTROL FILE ... RESETLOGS" statement. Change "REUSE DATABASE" to "SET DATABASE" Change DBNAME (Source database name to appropriate Destination DB name) Retain entries related to online redo log groups for the first instance and remove all other redo log groups. Change Datafile/Redo log locations and copy those files from hot backup to the location specified in controlfile. After making above changes, the control file should look something like this. #############################################################################
CREATE CONTROLFILE SET DATABASE "PREPROD" RESETLOGS ARCHIVELOG MAXLOGFILES 192 MAXLOGMEMBERS 3 MAXDATAFILES 1024 MAXINSTANCES 32 MAXLOGHISTORY 9344 LOGFILE GROUP 1 ( '/u99/oradata/clone/redo1_01a.rdo', '/u99/oradata/clone/redo1_01b.rdo' ) SIZE 400M, GROUP 2 ( '/u99/oradata/clone/redo1_02a.rdo', '/u99/oradata/clone/redo1_02b.rdo' ) SIZE 400M, GROUP 3 ( '/u99/oradata/clone/redo1_03a.rdo', '/u99/oradata/clone/redo1_03b.rdo' ) SIZE 400M, GROUP 4 ( '/u99/oradata/clone/redo1_4a.rdo', '/u99/oradata/clone/redo1_4b.rdo' ) SIZE 400M DATAFILE '/u99/oradata/clone/system01.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/undotbs01.dbf' '/u99/oradata/clone/sysaux01.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/undotbs02.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/undotbs03.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/undotbs04.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/audit_data.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/audit_index.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/cust_data.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/cust_index.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/app_data.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/app_index.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/app_hist_data.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/app_hist_index.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/blob_data32_amh.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/blob_data32_och.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/note_data.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/note_index.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/lookup_data.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/lookup_index.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/rule_data.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/rule_index.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/queue_data.dbf', '/u99/oradata/clone/queue_index.dbf' CHARACTER SET WE8ISO8859P1;

############################################################################# Step 8: Get existing pfile from destination DB by using:

SQL> CREATE PFILE='/u99/pfile_dbname.ora' FROM SPFILE;

Edit this parameter file by changing CLUSTER_DATABASE parameter to FALSE. CREATE CONTROLFILE command needs the database to be mounted exclusively and by setting CLUSTER_DATABASE=FALSE, database can be mounted exclusively. Step 9: Shutdown destination database (all nodes) and take a cold backup of datafiles, redo logfiles, controlfiles, etc., if required. Shutdown database by shutting each instance by using following command.
SQL> SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE;

Otherwise, use following command from OS

srvctl stop database d <dbname>

Step 10: Start the database in nomount stage using pfile created in step 8 using:
SQL> STARTUP NOMOUNT PFILE='/u99/pfile_dbname.ora';

Step 11: In nomount stage, create controlfile using edited backup controlfile (from Step 7). This step creates control files as mentioned in pfile "control_files" parameter. Step 12: Now, recover database using:
SQL> RECOVER DATABASE USING BACKUP CONTROLFILE UNTIL CANCEL;

Start feeding archive logs one by one using:

SQL> SELECT * FROM GV$ARCHIVED_LOG WHERE <CHANGE_NUMBER> BETWEEN FIRST_CHANGE# AND NEXT_CHANGE# AND THREAD#=<THREAD_NUMBER>

Step 13: Once recovery is complete, open the database using resetlogs to start with new redologs.
SQL> ALTER DATABASE OPEN RESETLOGS;

More information on OPEN RESETLOGS is available HERE. Now the database should be up and running and ready to use. Step 14: Create as many temporary tablespaces as they are in source DB with destination DB. Those temporary tablespace metadata entries would be present in destination DB, but temp files wouldnt be present under those temporary tablespaces. For example, tempfiles can be created using:
SQL> ALTER TABLESPACE <tablespace_name> ADD TEMPFILE /u99/oradata/clone/temporary01.dbf size 20G

Step 15: While creating control files (in Step 7), online redo log groups and members were created only for the first instance in the database. Online redo logs has to be created for other instances also. Create as many online redo log files as they are on source DB in destination DB. For example:
SQL> ALTER DATABASE ADD LOGFILE THREAD 2 GROUP 5 ('/u99/oradata/clone/redo2_5a.rdo', '/u99/oradata/clone/redo2_5b.rdo') SIZE 400M;

Step 16: Shutdown the instance (only one node is up as of now), edit pfile with cluster_database=true parameter and start the database (all nodes). Step 17: Shutdown the database and take a cold backup if required.