Recovering Through RESETLOGS with Created Control File: Scenario

You can recover backups through an OPEN RESETLOGS so long as:

• You have a current, backup, or created control file that knows about the prior incarnations

• You have all available archived redo logs

If you need to re-create the control file, the trace file generated by ALTER DATABASE BACKUP CONTROLFILE TO TRACE will contain the necessary commands to re-construct the complete incarnation history. The V$DATABASE_INCARNATION view displays the RESETLOGS history known to the control file, while the V$LOG_HISTORY view displays the archived log history.

It is possible for the incarnation history to be incomplete in the in re-created control file. For example, archived logs necessary for recovery may be missing. In this case, it is possible to create incarnation records explicitly with the ALTER DATABASE REGISTER LOGFILE statement.

In the following example, you register four logs that are necessary for recovery but are not recorded in the re-created control file, and then recover the database:

ALTER DATABASE REGISTER LOGFILE '?/oradata/trgt/arch/arcr_1_1_42343523.arc';
ALTER DATABASE REGISTER LOGFILE '?/oradata/trgt/arch/arcr_1_1_34546466.arc';
ALTER DATABASE REGISTER LOGFILE '?/oradata/trgt/arch/arcr_1_1_23435466.arc';
ALTER DATABASE REGISTER LOGFILE '?/oradata/trgt/arch/arcr_1_1_12343533.arc';
RECOVER AUTOMATIC DATABASE;