How to create restore points with local snapshots

It is assumed that the following tasks have been performed:

The Oracle Database application has been installed and any Protector prerequisites are met.
The Protector Master software has been installed and licensed on a dedicated node.
The Protector Client software has been installed on the source node where the Oracle Database application resides.
The Protector Client software has been installed on the destination node that will act as a proxy for the Hitachi Block storage device. Note that for a Thin Image snapshot, the source and destination LDEVs are located on the same device.
The storage device has been set up as per the Protector requirements and prerequisites.
Permissions have been granted to enable the Protector UI, required activities and participating nodes to be accessed. In this example all nodes will be left in the default resource group, so there is no need to allocate nodes to user defined resource groups.

Ops Center Protector enables you to create a point-in-time snapshot of the Oracle database by storing the changes instead of copying the whole database. The snapshot is created using Thin Image technology. By creating a Thin Image snapshot, you can not only manage the storage space efficiently but also rapidly recover the database to a previous point in time.

Because Thin Image is differential, the primary volumes are required to reconstruct the entire data set, therefore if the primary data is lost then the snapshots are of no use. For this reason, Thin Image snapshots should not be relied upon for recovery from catastrophic primary data loss.

Note: Oracle backups are performed in two phases resulting in two snapshots. If the second phase fails the first phase snapshot may not be removed from the array.

The data flow and policy are as follows:

Figure. Hardware Snapshot Data Flow

Table. Oracle Snapshot Policy
Classification Type	Parameters	Value
Oracle Database	Database Selection	TestDb (The selected databases must be located on the same Block device)
Oracle Database	Backup Mode	Online

Operation Type	Parameters	Value	Assigned Nodes
Snapshot	Mode	Hardware	Oracle Database
	Hardware Type	Hitachi Block
	RPO	8 Hours
	Retention	1 Week
	Run Options	Run on RPO
	Source Options	Quiesce...

Locate the source OS Host node in the Nodes Inventory and check that it is authorized and online.
This node represents the Protector Client installed on the Oracle server.
Create a new Oracle Database node using the Oracle Application Node Wizard and check that the node it is authorized and online.
The Oracle Database node type is grouped under Application in the Node Type Wizard. This node will be used in the dataflow to represent the Oracle Database setup to be protected.
1. Select the OS Host node identified above as the Node running Oracle....
2. Specify the credentials for both the Operating System and Database users.
Locate the node in the Node Inventory that will control the Hitachi Block Device via a CMD (Command Device) interface and check that it is authorized and online.
This node is used by Protector to orchestrate snapshot creation and is identified as the Proxy Node when creating the Hitachi Block Device node in the next step. This node is known as an ISM (Intelligent Storage Manager) node. The ISM node does not appear in the data flow.
Create a new Hitachi Block Device node (unless one already exists) using the Block Storage Node Wizard and check that it is authorized and online.
The Hitachi Block Device node type is grouped under Storage in the Node Type Wizard. Note that this node does not appear in the snapshot data flow diagram, but is identified when assigning the snapshot policy.
Define a policy as shown in the table above using the Policy Wizard, Oracle Database Classification Wizard and Snapshot Operation Wizard.
The Oracle Database classification is grouped under Application in the Policy Wizard.
Draw a data flow as shown in the figure above, that shows only the Oracle Database source node.
At this stage the snapshot icon is not shown.
Assign the Snapshot operation to the Oracle Database source node. The Oracle-Snapshot policy will then be assigned automatically.
The Block Snapshot Operation Properties Dialog is displayed.
Select the Pool by selecting the Hitachi Block Device node created in the steps above, followed by one of the available Thin Image Pools.
Leave the remaining parameters at their default settings, then click OK.
The snapshot icon is now shown superimposed over the source node.
Compile and activate the data flow, checking carefully that there are no errors or warnings.
Locate the active data flow in the Monitor Inventory and open its Monitor Details page.
The policy will be invoked repeatedly according to the RPO specified. The policy can also be manually triggered from the source node in the monitor data flow. You may want to manually trigger to create an initial snapshot.
Monitor the active data flow to ensure the policy is operating as expected.
For a healthy data flow you will periodically see:
- Snapshot jobs appearing in the Jobs area below the data flow that cycle through stages and ending in Progress - Completed.
- Information messages appearing in the Logs area below the data flow indicating rules activation, storage handler and sequencer events.
- Attachments to storage handler log events confirming which volumes are being snapshotted.
Review the status of the Hitachi Block Device to ensure snapshots are being created.
New snapshots will appear periodically as dictated by the RPO of the policy. Old snapshots will be removed periodically as dictated by the Retention Period of the policy.