In addition to creating block based backups of Oracle databases and restoring them, Ops Center Protector can also assist with recovering a database and rolling it forward to a point in time newer than that captured by the snapshot.
Please ensure the following actions are complete to enable recovery and roll forward of block-based Oracle backups.
Use RMAN and the RMAN catalog, ideally with Protector‘s Oracle RMAN integration, to perform regular and frequent archive log backups
A recovery on a mount system is only possible with a backup of an archive log and corresponding controlfile. The contents and time of the archive log backups determine the latest transaction that can be recovered.
Ensure that controlfile and spfiles are protected with the archive logs
RMAN allows the current version of the controlfile (and spfile) to be backed up with archive logs. This is necessary to have all the information about backup sets, paths and logs available during recovery. To enable the automatic backup of these files, use 'configure controlfile autobackup on;' within RMAN. This is a one-time configuration for each specific database being protected.
Set 'control_file_record_keep_time' to the retention time of the snapshots
The recovery process starts with a restore of an appropriate controlfile to reduce the impact on the RMAN catalog. The controlfile holds the same information as the RMAN catalog. However, the controlfile has a limited size and holds the information for a limited time, only. The duration is defined via the parameter 'control_file_record_keep_time'. The default of this parameter is 7 days. It should be set to at least the number of days as the retention time of the backup. For example, if the backup has a retention period of 14 days, the following sqlplus command is used 'alter system set control_file_record_keep_time=14 scope=both;'