Recovery catalog

A recovery catalog is a database schema used by RMAN to store metadata about Oracle databases. Generally, we store the catalog in a separate database. 

Benefits of Recovery catalog are: 

• A recovery catalog creates redundancy for the RMAN repository stored in the control file of each target database. If the target control file and all backups are lost, then the RMAN metadata still exists in the recovery catalog.
  
• A recovery catalog centralizes metadata for all target databases. simpler reporting and administration of backups.
  
• A recovery catalog can store metadata history much longer than the control file.
  
  The catalog includes the following types of metadata:
  
  • Datafile and archived redo log backup sets and backup pieces
  • Datafile copies
  • Archived redo logs and their copies
  • Database structure (tablespaces and datafiles)
  • Stored scripts, which are named user-created sequences of RMAN commands
  • Persistent RMAN configuration settings
  
  

Step 1. Create Recovery  Catalog

-- Create tablepsace to hold repository

SQL>CREATE TABLESPACE "RMAN" 

DATAFILE 'D:\ORACLE \ORADATA\DB1\RMAN01.DBF' SIZE 1000K REUSE

AUTOEXTEND ON;

-- Create rman schema owner

SQL>CREATE USER rman IDENTIFIED BY rman

TEMPORARY TABLESPACE temp 

DEFAULT TABLESPACE rman 

QUOTA UNLIMITED ON rman;

SQL>GRANT connect, resource, recovery_catalog_owner TO rman;

C:>rman catalog=rman/rman@db1

Recovery Manager: Release 9.2.0.1.0 - Production

Copyright (c) 1995, 2002, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.

connected to recovery catalog database

recovery catalog is not installed

RMAN> create catalog tablespace "RMAN";

recovery catalog created

RMAN> exit

Recovery Manager complete.

Step 2. Register Database

C:>rman catalog=rman/rman@db1 target=sys/password@db2

Recovery Manager: Release 9.2.0.1.0 - Production

Copyright (c) 1995, 2002, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.

connected to target database: db2 (DBID=1371963417)

connected to recovery catalog database

RMAN> register database;

database registered in recovery catalog

starting full resync of recovery catalog

full resync complete

RMAN>