Configuring Tablespaces for Exclusion from Whole Database Backups

You can run CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE to exempt the specified tablespace from the BACKUP DATABASE command. The exclusion condition applies to any datafiles that you add to this tablespace in the future.

This tablespace exclusion feature is useful when you do not want to make a specified tablespace part of the regular backup schedule, as in these cases:

A tablespace is easy to rebuild, so it is more cost-effective to rebuild it than back it up every day.
A tablespace contains temporary or test data that you do not need to back up.
A tablespace does not change often and therefore should be backed up on a different schedule from other backups.

For example, you can exclude testing tablespaces cwmlite and example from whole database backups as follows:

CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE cwmlite;
CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE example;

If you run the following command, then RMAN backs up all tablespaces in the database except cwmlite and example:

BACKUP DATABASE;

You can still back up the configured tablespaces by explicitly specifying them in a BACKUP command or by specifying the NOEXCLUDE option on a BACKUP DATABASE command. For example, you can enter one of the following commands:

# backs up the whole database, including cwmlite and example
BACKUP DATABASE NOEXCLUDE; 
BACKUP TABLESPACE cwmlite, example;  # backs up only cwmlite and example

You can disable the exclusion feature for cwmlite and example as follows:

CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE cwmlite CLEAR;
CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE example CLEAR;

RMAN includes these tablespaces in future whole database backups.

Showing the Tablespaces Excluded from Backups

SHOW EXCLUDE shows how you have used the CONFIGURE EXCLUDE command to exclude tablespaces from whole database backups.

After connecting to the target database and recovery catalog (if you use one), run the SHOW EXCLUDE command. For example, enter:

RMAN> SHOW EXCLUDE;    # shows the CONFIGURE EXCLUDE setting

Sample output for SHOW EXCLUDE follows:

RMAN configuration parameters are:
CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE 'OLD_ACCOUNTS';