Cloud Backup:Back up an Oracle database

Usage notes

• On-premises database servers must be connected to virtual private clouds (VPCs) by using virtual private networks (VPNs) or Express Connect circuits. You must also make sure that you can use a Cloud Backup client to access one of the following CIDR blocks from an on-premises server: 100.64.0.0/10, 100.64.0.0/11, and 100.96.0.0/11. For more information, see Connect a VPC to a data center in single-tunnel mode.

• Cloud Backup supports a limited number of database versions, operating systems, and backup features. For more information, see the "Supported database versions" section in Overview (ECS-hosted databases).

• After the anti-ransomware feature is enabled, the Oracle backup feature becomes unavailable. For more information about the anti-ransomware feature, see Overview of the anti-ransomware feature.

• The Oracle backup feature cannot back up databases deployed in containers.

• Cloud Backup regularly deletes expired backup data. We recommend that you do not use other third-party backup software such as script tools together with the Oracle backup feature of Cloud Backup. Otherwise, Cloud Backup may call the rman command to delete the data that is backed up by other software by mistake.

• When you create a backup plan, select a proper backup vault to avoid backing up data from one database to different backup vaults. We recommend that you back up a database instance to only one backup vault. If you back up a database instance to different backup vaults, incremental or log backups may be converted to full backups, which occupies additional storage space in the backup vaults.

• If you use other backup software or scripts to perform a full backup or an incremental backup, Cloud Backup may convert the next incremental backup to a full backup. As a result, you are charged for additional backup storage. Log backups are not affected.

Create a backup plan for the Oracle database

After you register an Oracle database, you must create a backup plan for the database. Then, Cloud Backup backs up the Oracle database from the specified start time at the specified backup interval. To create a backup plan, perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Cloud Backup console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Backup > Database Backup. In the top navigation bar, select a region. On the Database Backup page, click the Oracle tab. Click the ECS Database Instance or Local Database Instance tab. Find the Oracle database for which you want to create a backup plan and click Back Up in the Actions column.

   

3. In the Create Backup Plan panel, perform the following steps:

   1. Configure the backup parameters and click Next.

      1. Specify Plan Name.

      2. Select the database instance that you want to back up.

         

   2. Configure the backup plan and click Next.

      Parameter	Description
      Recommended Plan	The recommended backup plan. Cloud Backup provides the following preconfigured backup policies. You can select a backup policy based on your business requirements or create a custom backup policy. Typical Plan: enables the Full Backup and Incremental Backup features. Critical Application: enables the Full Backup, Incremental Backup, and Log Backup features. Customize: enables a custom backup policy. You can select incremental backup or real-time backup, and specify the start time and backup interval.
      Full Backup	If you select Full Backup, all the database files in the operating system are backed up. However, you can restore the files to only the point in time at which the files are backed up. You can back up files immediately or at a specified point in time. You can also schedule periodic backups by hour, day, week, or month.
      Incremental Backup	If you select Incremental Backup, all incremental database files in the operating system are backed up. However, you can restore the files to only the point in time at which the files are backed up. You can back up files immediately or at a specified point in time. You can also schedule periodic backups by hour, day, week, or month. Important To restore an incremental backup file, Cloud Backup must obtain the most recent full backup file. Therefore, the full backup file is not recycled until the incremental backup file expires. We recommend that you configure a reasonable backup cycle and expiration time. For more information, see How does Cloud Backup clear expired database backup files?
      Log Backup	You can back up database logs at a regular interval. You can back up files immediately or at a specified point in time. You can also schedule periodic backups by hour, day, week, or month. Important To restore a log backup file, Cloud Backup must obtain the most recent full backup file. Therefore, the full backup file is not recycled until the log backup file expires. We recommend that you configure a reasonable backup cycle and expiration time. For more information, see How does Cloud Backup clear expired database backup files?
      Realtime Backup	If you select Realtime Backup, database logs are backed up in real time. Before you enable real-time backup, you must perform a full backup. After real-time backup is enabled, database logs are continuously backed up. Therefore, the recovery point objective (RPO) of data backups can be reduced to a few seconds. During the free trial period, you can perform real-time backups free of charge. When the free trial period expires, you are charged for the storage usage of real-time backups. The storage usage fees are included in your Cloud Backup bills. For more information, see Pricing of Cloud Backup. Important You can create only one backup plan for a single Oracle database if you enable real-time backup for the backup plan.

   3. Configure the backup settings and click Next.

      Parameter	Description
      Concurrent Threads	The number of concurrent threads that are used to back up files.
      Retry Time	The time interval between two consecutive reconnection attempts if the database is disconnected during backup. Unit: minutes.
      Speed Limit	The maximum size of data that is backed up per second. Unit: MB/s. The value 0 indicates that the speed is unlimited.
      If Keep Archive Logs	Specifies the retention policy for the archived logs that are backed up. By default, the archived logs are retained for 24 hours. Do Not Keep: After a backup is performed, all archived logs are deleted. Keep All: After a backup is performed, all archived logs are retained. Keep: After a backup is performed, the archived logs are retained only for a specified number of hours.

   4. Configure a backup vault and click OK.

      Important

      You can back up a database instance to only one backup vault.

      Parameter	Description
      Backup Vault	The backup vault to which you want to store the backup data. Valid values: Create Vault: If you select this option, specify a name for the backup vault in the Vault Name field. If you do not configure this parameter, a random name is specified. Select Vault: If you select this option, select a backup vault from the Vault Name drop-down list. Important After a backup vault is created, you are charged for the backup vault regardless of whether backup data is generated. For more information, see Billing methods and billable items. To maximize the redundancy of your backup data, Cloud Backup uses zone-redundant storage (ZRS)-enabled backup vaults by default in regions that support ZRS-enabled backup vaults. For regions that support only locally redundant storage (LRS)-enabled backup vaults, Cloud Backup uses LRS-enabled backup vaults. You do not need to manually select a backup vault type.
      Vault Name	The name of the backup vault.
      Backup Retention Period	The retention period of the backup data. Unit: days, weeks, months, or years. You can change the retention period on the Storage Vaults page. This change takes effect on all newly generated backup data in the backup vault. Important To restore an incremental backup file or log backup file, Cloud Backup must obtain the most recent full backup file. Therefore, the full backup file is not recycled until the incremental backup file or log backup file expires. We recommend that you configure a reasonable backup cycle and expiration time. For more information, see How does Cloud Backup clear expired database backup files?

Backup is successful

• A full backup is a prerequisite for an incremental backup. You must manually perform a full backup.

• After the backup plan is created, you can view the backup plan details on the Backup Plans tab. The details include the next execution time and backup intervals for the full backup, incremental backup, and log backup. Cloud Backup backs up the Oracle database from the specified start time at the specified backup interval.

• When the backup execution time is reached, Cloud Backup runs the backup plan. If the Status of a backup job is Idle and the time for Next Run is displayed, the backup job is completed.

FAQ

• How do I view the process status and log path of a Cloud Backup client for database backup?

• What do I do if the status of an Oracle database is Unknown in the console?

• How does Cloud Backup clear expired database backup files?

• How do I view the amount of database backup data and backup vault usage? Which item is used for billing?

• How do I cancel Oracle database backup?

More operations

On the Backup Plan tab, find the backup plan. In the Actions column, you can perform the following operations:

• Modify a backup plan

  If a backup plan cannot meet your requirements, you can click Edit to modify the backup plan.

• Configure alert settings

  You can choose More > Alert Settings in the Actions column and then select a backup alert policy. The following table describes the alert policies.

  Alert policy	Description
  Disabled	The Cloud Backup client does not send alert notifications.
  Same as Backup Vault	The Cloud Backup client sends alert notifications by using the same method configured for the backup vault.
  Default	The Cloud Backup client sends alert notifications to the owner of the Alibaba Cloud account by using emails.
  Custom	If you select this option, you must select one or more alert contacts or alert contact groups. If an alert is triggered, the Cloud Backup client sends alert notifications to the selected alert contacts or alert contact groups.

• Delete a backup plan

  If you delete a backup plan, all backup and restore jobs that are being performed by the client fail.

  To delete a backup plan, find the backup plan and choose More > Delete Backup in the Actions column.

References

• Register an ECS-hosted Oracle database

• Register an on-premises Oracle database

• For more information about the benefits, working mechanisms, procedures, and limits of the database backup feature, see Overview (ECS-hosted databases) and Overview (on-premises databases).