Restartable Backups

Using the restartable backups feature, RMAN can back up only those files that have not been backed up since a specified date. Use this feature after a backup fails to back up the parts of the database missed by the failed backup.

The unit of restartability is a backup set. If the backup generates multiple backup sets, then the backups that completed successfully do not have to be rerun. If the entire database is written into one backup set, and if the backup fails halfway through, then the entire backup has to be restarted.

To take better advantage of restartable backups, you can use set the MAXSETSIZE parameter of the BACKUP command. If, for instance, you set MAXSETSIZE to 10MB for a given backup command, a new backup set is produced for each 10MB of backup output. If the backup fails after some backup sets have been produced and must be restarted, the data backed up in those backup sets will not have to be backed up again. (Note that MAXSETSIZE must be large enough that any file can be accomodated in a single backup piece, because files cannot span backup pieces.)

For example, if the largest datafile is less than 10 MB, then you can back up the database daily as follows:

BACKUP DATABASE MAXSETSIZE = 10M;

Then, after a failure you can back up all files in the database that were not backed up in the last 24 hours by issuing:

BACKUP DATABASE NOT BACKED UP SINCE TIME 'SYSDATE-1';

If the SINCE TIME is later than the completion time, then RMAN backs up the file. If you use "BACKUP DATABASE NOT BACKED UP" without the SINCE TIME parameter, then RMAN only backs up files that have never been backed up.

When determining whether a file has been backed up, RMAN compares the SINCE TIME date with the completion time of the most recent backup of the file. The completion time for a backup piece is the completion time of the entire backup set, not an individual backup piece; in other words, all files in the same backup set have the same completion time.