Cloud Backup:Back up an Oracle database

Limitations

Be aware of the following limitations when using the Oracle backup feature:

• Supported systems: The feature supports specific database versions, operating systems, and backup types. For details, see Supported systems and limits.

• Feature incompatibility: The Oracle backup feature cannot be used if the anti-ransomware service is enabled for your database.

• Container support: Backing up databases that are running in containers is not supported.

Important considerations

To avoid data loss, unexpected charges, or backup failures, follow these best practices:

• Run an initial full backup
  We strongly recommend running a full backup immediately after creating a new plan. This establishes the necessary baseline for all subsequent incremental and log backups, ensuring your data is fully recoverable.

• Avoid using other backup tools concurrently
  Do not use other third-party software or custom scripts to back up the same Oracle database. Cloud Backup uses the rman command to manage backups and may mistakenly delete backup data created by other tools. Furthermore, if other tools perform full or incremental backups, the next incremental backup by Cloud Backup may be converted to a full backup, leading to extra storage costs. Log backups are not affected by this behavior.

• Use one backup vault per database instance
  Do not back up a single database to different backup vaults. This can cause incremental or log backups to be converted into full backups, consuming unnecessary storage space.

• Plan retention policies carefully

  Restoring from incremental or log backups requires the latest full backup. Consequently, a full backup is retained until all its dependent backups have expired. Configure your retention periods carefully, as this behavior can increase storage consumption and costs. For more information, see How does Cloud Backup clear expired database backup files?

Procedure

After you register an Oracle instance, you must create a backup plan for the instance. Cloud Backup runs Oracle backup jobs based on the specified start time and backup interval. Perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Cloud Backup console.

2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Backup > Database Backup. Select a region and click the Oracle tab. Click the ECS Database Instance or Local Database Instance tab. Find the target Oracle instance and click Back Up in the Actions column.

   

3. In the Create Backup Plan panel, configure the following parameters.

   1. Configure the backup content and click Next.

      1. Enter a Plan Name.

      2. Select the database instance to back up.

         

   2. Configure the backup plan and click Next.

      Parameter	Description
      Recommended Plan	Choose from the following pre-defined backup policies, or select Customize to build your own. Typical Plan: Enables the Full Backup and Incremental Backup features. Critical Application: Enables the Full Backup, Incremental Backup, and Log Backup features. Customize: Define a custom backup policy. This option lets you combine different backup types (such as incremental and real-time) and configure their schedules, including start times and intervals.
      Full Backup	A full backup is a complete, point-in-time snapshot of all database files. It can be used to restore the entire database to the exact moment the backup was captured. This backup can be run once or scheduled to run periodically (hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly).
      Incremental Backup	An incremental backup captures only the data that has changed since the last backup. It lets you restore the database to its state at the time the incremental backup was taken. Both one-time and scheduled backups are supported. Important The retention of this backup type depends on the associated full backup. For details on storage implications, see Important considerations.
      Log Backup	Backs up database logs, which can be used for point-in-time recovery. Both one-time and scheduled backups are supported. Important The retention of this backup type depends on the associated full backup. For details on storage implications, see Important considerations.
      Realtime Backup	Backs up database log data in real time. An initial full backup is required before enabling real-time backup. Once enabled, the feature continuously backs up database logs, achieving a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of seconds. This feature is free during the trial period, after which charges will apply for the storage used. For more information, see Pricing. Important Only one backup plan that includes real-time backup can be created for a single Oracle database instance.

   3. Configure backup options and click Next.

      Parameter	Description
      Concurrent Threads	The number of concurrent threads for data backup.
      Retry Time	The interval at which to reconnect to the database if it disconnects during a backup. Unit: minutes.
      Speed Limit	The maximum data size to back up per second. Unit: MB/s. A value of 0 means no speed limit.
      If Keep Archive Logs	The retention policy for backed-up archived logs. By default, logs are retained for 24 hours. Do Not Keep: Deletes all backed-up archived logs after the backup is complete. Keep All: Retains all archived logs. Keep: Deletes the logs after they are retained for N hours.

   4. Configure a backup vault and click OK.

      Important

      An instance can only be backed up to a single backup vault.

      Parameter	Description
      Backup Vault	Configure the backup vault where backups are stored. Create Vault: Enter a name for the new backup vault. If you leave this blank, a random name is assigned. Select Vault: Select an existing backup vault from the drop-down list. Important After a backup vault is created, you are charged a rental fee for the database backup vault, regardless of whether backup data is generated. For more information, see Billing methods and billable items. The system automatically selects the redundancy type based on what the region supports. In regions that support zone-redundant storage (ZRS), a ZRS-enabled archive vault is created by default. In other regions, a locally redundant storage (LRS)-based archive vault is created. You do not need to select the type manually.
      Vault Name	The name of the backup vault.
      Backup Retention Period	The retention period for backups. Unit: Day, Week, Month, or Year. This setting can be changed on the vault management page. The change applies to all new backup data in the vault. Important The retention of full backups is automatically extended to support dependent backups. For a detailed explanation, see Important considerations.

Verify backup results

• After a backup plan is created, its details are displayed on the Backup Plans tab. The details include the next run time and the backup interval for Full Backup, Incremental Backup, and Log Backup. Cloud Backup uses the specified start time and backup interval to run Oracle database backup jobs.

• At the scheduled time, Cloud Backup starts to run the backup plan. The current backup is complete when the backup job Status is Idle and a time is displayed in the Next Run field.

Troubleshooting

If a restore job for a standby Oracle Data Guard database fails, the failure may be because passwordless logon was used during instance activation. Find the target database, click ⋮ in the Actions column, and then select Reactivate. Reactivate the instance using the database username and password, and then retry the job.

FAQ

• FAQ about database backup

• How does a database backup vault purge expired data?

• How do I view the backup data size and backup vault usage? What are the billing rules?

More operations

On the Backup Plan tab, find the target backup plan. The following operations are available in the Actions column:

• Edit a backup plan

  Click Edit to modify the backup plan.

• Configure alert settings

  Click ⋮ and select Alert Settings, and then select a backup alert method.

  Backup alert method	Description
  Disabled	The client no longer sends alert notifications.
  Same as Backup Vault	The client uses the same alert method as the backup vault.
  Notify Alibaba Cloud Account	Backup alert notifications for the client are sent by email to the Alibaba Cloud account.
  Custom	Select one or more contacts or contact groups. After configuration, the client sends backup alerts to the selected contacts or groups.

• Delete a backup plan

  Deleting a backup plan will interrupt any running backup or restore jobs.

  Click ⋮ and select Delete Backup to delete a backup plan that is no longer needed.

References

• Register an ECS-hosted Oracle database

• Register an on-premises Oracle database

• To learn about the benefits, working principles, procedures, and limitations of database backup, see Feature overview (ECS database) and Feature overview (on-premises database).