DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Page 1 of 8

IT Services
DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Queensland
All managed IT
services, Database
Services, Development
Projects
www.dhanushinfotech.…

Using a Physical Standby Database for Read/Write

Testing and Reporting (Oracle 10g)
by Jeff Hunter, Sr. Database Administrator

Contents

Introduction
Enable Flashback Database on the Physical Standby Database
Activate the Physical Standby Database as a Read/Write Clone of the Primary Database
Use the Activated Database For Testing or Reporting
Revert Physical Standby Database Back To Its Original State
About the Author

Introduction

Introduced in Oracle Database 10g, Flashback Database provides users with a quick method for rewinding an
entire database to a previous point in time or SCN value. This is a valuable tool used by Database
Administrators to protect critical databases against user failure. Consider for example a scenario in which a
user accidentally deletes several million records from a few key table on a production database. Prior to
Oracle Database 10g and Flashback Database, the DBA would most likely need to perform a complex point-
in-time recovery using RMAN to a point in time right before the DELETE occurred. Although a realistic solution,
it has the potential for a high Mean-Time-To-Recovery (MTTR) given the database will be offline during the
entire process of restoring the database's datafiles from the most recent backup followed by a point-in-time
recovery of the archived redo logs that have accumulated since the last backup. If, however, the database
had flashback database enabled, the DBA could avoid all of the costly and risky operations required for a
point-in-time recovery operation and simply rewind the database to the same point-in-time in a fraction of the
time using the FLASHBACK DATABASE command.

In addition to providing a quick and efficient method for recovering from user-induced errors, Flashback
Database can also be used in combination with Oracle Data Guard, restore points, and physical standby
database to temporarily open a physical standby database in read/write mode for QA testing, development
fixes, or reporting purposes and then flashed back to a point in the past (the restore point) to be reverted back
to a physical standby database. After the physical database is flashed back, Data Guard will automatically
synchronize it with the primary which eliminates the need to formally re-create the physical standby database
from a backup copy of the primary database. Throughout this entire process, the primary database can
remain online without the need to log off users or shut it down.

Figure 1 provides an overview of how a physical standby database can be temporarily activated as a
read/write clone of the primary database and reverted back to its role as a physical standby database using
Flashback Database. This process can executed any number of times if necessary.

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_tips/Data_Guard/DG_52.shtml 30/03/2011
DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Page 2 of 8

Figure 1: Opening Physical Standby Database in Read/Write for Testing

It is assumed that a primary and one physical standby database is already configured in order to perform the
steps described in this guide. The examples used in this guide will make use of the Oracle Data Guard
configuration described in the article below:

Data Guard Configuration Example - (Oracle 10g, Physical Standby)

Enable Flashback Database on the Physical Standby Database

The first step is to configure the physical standby database to use flashback logging for Flashback Database
operations. Although not a requirement for this exercise, it is best practice to also enable Flashback Database
on the the primary.

1. In order to use Flashback Database, the physical database must be running in Archive Log Mode.
Given the fact that this is a Data Guard configuration, both the primary and physical standby database
will already be running in archive log mode and no action is required.

SQL> archive log list

Database log mode Archive Mode
Automatic archival Enabled
Archive destination USE_DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST
Oldest online log sequence 208
Next log sequence to archive 0
Current log sequence 210

2. Flashback Database requires that the flashback logs reside in the Flash Recovery Area (FRA).
Although the FRA may already be configured for your environment, the flashback logs can significantly
increase FRA usage. It is not unheard of to double the size of the FRA to utilize Flashback Database.

If a FRA does not exist, it will need to be created. For example, run the following statements on the
physical standby database to configure a 32GB flash recovery area in
the /u03/flash_recovery_area directory with a retention time of 24 hours:

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_tips/Data_Guard/DG_52.shtml 30/03/2011
DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Page 3 of 8

SQL> alter system set db_recovery_file_dest='/u03/flash_recovery_area';

SQL> alter system set db_recovery_file_dest_size=32g;
SQL> alter system set db_flashback_retention_target=1440;

The size and location of the FRA and the Flashback Database retention policy time listed above should
be modified for your environment.

3. Stop Redo Apply on the physical standby database and verify it is in MOUNT mode.

SQL> alter database recover managed standby database cancel;

SQL> select open_mode from v$database;

OPEN_MODE
----------
MOUNTED

4. Turn on Flashback Logging.

SQL> alter database flashback on;

5. Place the physical standby database back into recovery mode by starting Redo Apply.

SQL> alter database recover managed standby database using current logfile disconnect;

Activate the Physical Standby Database as a Read/Write Clone of the Primary

Database

Perform the following steps to activate the physical standby database as a production database clone which
can be used for QA testing, development fixes, or reporting purposes. The clone database will be
resynchronized back with the primary database and returned to its original state as a physical standby
database in the next section.

In Oracle Database 10g, all redo application is paused while the database is activated.
The standby will not receive any redo from the primary database while it is opened in
read/write mode and therefore cannot provide disaster protection. It is recommended that
there be at least two physical standby databases participating in the configuration so that
the primary database remains protected against data loss.

1. Prepare the physical standby database to be activated.

On the physical standby database, stop Redo Apply and create a restore point.

SQL> alter database recover managed standby database cancel;

Database altered.

SQL> create restore point before_open_standby guarantee flashback database;

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_tips/Data_Guard/DG_52.shtml 30/03/2011
DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Page 4 of 8

Restore point created.

When you create a guaranteed restore point, you associate an easy-to-remember name such as
before_open_standby with a timestamp or SCN so that you can later flash back the database to a
name instead of specifying an exact SCN or time.

SQL> select scn, storage_size, time, name from v$restore_point;

SCN STORAGE_SIZE TIME NAME

---------- ------------ --------------------------------- --------------------
3497333 15941632 23-FEB-11 10.43.43.000000000 AM BEFORE_OPEN_STANDBY

2. Prepare the primary database to have the physical standby be diverged.

Prepare the primary database to be split from the physical standby by archiving the current log
file. This step is necessary in order to write the SCN of the restore point (created in step 1) to the
redo stream and archive it to the physical standby database. To accomplish this, switch logs on
the primary database.

SQL> alter system archive log current;

System altered.

When using standby redo log files, this step is essential to ensure the database can be properly
flashed back to the restore point.

On the primary database (on all instances if this is a Real Applications Cluster), defer the
archival of redo data to the destination associated with the physical standby database that will
be opened, and switch logs one more time to stop redo transport.

SQL> alter system set log_archive_dest_state_2=defer;

System altered.

SQL> alter system switch logfile;

System altered.

3. Activate the physical standby database.

On the physical standby database, perform the following steps:

Activate the physical standby database.

SQL> alter database activate standby database;

Database altered.

Skip the next statement if the physical standby has not been opened read-only since the
instance was last started.

SQL> startup mount force;

ORACLE instance started.

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_tips/Data_Guard/DG_52.shtml 30/03/2011
DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Page 5 of 8

Total System Global Area 1610612736 bytes

Fixed Size 2084296 bytes
Variable Size 385876536 bytes
Database Buffers 1207959552 bytes
Redo Buffers 14692352 bytes
Database mounted.

The last step is to set the protection mode to maximum performance and open the database for
read/write access.

SQL> alter database set standby database to maximize performance;

Database altered.

SQL> alter database open;

Database altered.

If the standby database that was opened read/write temporarily has remote archive log
destinations, you should disable them. In this way, the read/write testing or reporting database
will not propagate its temporary changes to other standby databases in the original Data Guard
environment.

SQL> alter system set log_archive_dest_state_2=defer;

System altered.

After the standby database is activated, its protection mode is downgraded to the maximum performance
mode, because there is no standby database configured to protect the database against data loss while it is
temporarily activated as a production database. Note that this protection mode setting does not affect the
protection mode of the original primary database, it affects only the activated standby database.

When the activated standby database is converted back to a physical standby database, its protection mode
is automatically changed to match that of the original primary database.

Use the Activated Database For Testing or Reporting

Once the physical standby database has been activated, it is a full-blown clone of the primary database. You
may perform QA testing, run reports, fix bugs, test new code, or create objects on the new activated database
for as long as needed, independent of the primary database.

While the database is activated, it is not receiving redo data from the primary database and cannot provide
disaster protection. It is recommended that there be at least two physical standby databases participating in
the configuration so that the primary database remains protected against data loss.

Also, any results stored in the activated database will be lost when you later flash back the database to before
the activation time. Results that should be saved must be copied or exported out of the activated database
before flashing it back.

Revert Physical Standby Database Back To Its Original State

After testing is completed, you need to resynchronize the activated database with the primary database. Issue
the following statements on the activated database to quickly flash it back to the guaranteed restore point
created earlier (before_open_standby) and resynchronize it with the primary database.

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_tips/Data_Guard/DG_52.shtml 30/03/2011
DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Page 6 of 8

1. Revert Physical Standby Database using Flashback Database.

SQL> startup mount force;

ORACLE instance started.

Total System Global Area 1610612736 bytes

Fixed Size 2084296 bytes
Variable Size 385876536 bytes
Database Buffers 1207959552 bytes
Redo Buffers 14692352 bytes
Database mounted.

SQL> flashback database to restore point before_open_standby;

Flashback complete.

SQL> alter database convert to physical standby;

Database altered.

SQL> startup mount force;

ORACLE instance started.

Total System Global Area 1610612736 bytes

Fixed Size 2084296 bytes
Variable Size 385876536 bytes
Database Buffers 1207959552 bytes
Redo Buffers 14692352 bytes
Database mounted.

SQL> drop restore point before_open_standby;

Restore point dropped.

2. Catch up the standby database to the primary database.

The method you use in this step will depend on how far the activated standby database lags behind the
primary database in its application of redo data.

Let archive gap resolution fetch all missing archived redo log files and allow Redo Apply
to apply the gap.

If the activated database has not fallen too far behind the original primary database, issue the
following statement on the standby database to resynchronize it with the primary database and
restart Redo Apply. For example:

SQL> alter system set log_archive_dest_state_2=enable scope=both;

System altered.

SQL> alter database recover managed standby database using current logfile disconnect;

Database altered.

Then, go to step 3.

Create an incremental backup on the primary and apply it to the standby.

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_tips/Data_Guard/DG_52.shtml 30/03/2011
DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Page 7 of 8

If the activated database has fallen too far behind the original primary database (for example, if
there are not sufficient log files available), you can take an incremental backup from the primary
database and apply it to the standby database.

The following guide provides the steps necessary on use an RMAN incremental backup to roll
forward and resynchronize a physical standby database that lags far behind the primary
database:

Using RMAN Incremental Backups to Roll Forward a Physical Standby Database (Oracle
10g)

If the standby database lags very far behind the primary database, it may be quicker to
apply an incremental backup created from the primary database.

After you apply an incremental backup to the standby database, you typically need to apply
more redo to the standby database to activate the physical standby database again for
read/write testing or reporting purposes. More specifically, you might need to apply the redo
generated by the primary database while the incremental backup was taken. Otherwise, issuing
an ALTER DATABASE ACTIVATE STANDBY DATABASE will return an error.

3. Re-enable archiving to the physical standby database destination.

On the primary database, issue the following statement to re-enable archiving to the physical standby
database:

SQL> alter system set log_archive_dest_state_2=enable scope=both;

System altered.

About the Author

Jeffrey Hunter is an Oracle Certified Professional, Java Development Certified Professional, Author, and an
Oracle ACE. Jeff currently works as a Senior Database Administrator for The DBA Zone, Inc. located in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His work includes advanced performance tuning, Java and PL/SQL programming,
developing high availability solutions, capacity planning, database security, and physical / logical database
design in a UNIX, Linux, and Windows server environment. Jeff's other interests include mathematical
encryption theory, programming language processors (compilers and interpreters) in Java and C, LDAP,
writing web-based database administration tools, and of course Linux. He has been a Sr. Database
Administrator and Software Engineer for over 16 years and maintains his own website site at:
http://www.iDevelopment.info. Jeff graduated from Stanislaus State University in Turlock, California, with a
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.

Free Log File Analyzer Search, Alert and Monitor ALL Your IT data. Free Download! www.splunk.com/ITSearch
Online Data Backup Protect and secure your business. Nationwide service & local support. www.anittel.com.au
Online Data Backup Australia's Largest Data Protection And Document Storage Services! www.BackOnline.com.au
McAfee Online Backup 2011 Protect Your Digital Memories Now. Buy Now For Easy & Safe Protection! www.McAfee.com/Backup

Copyright (c) 1998-2011 Jeffrey M. Hunter. All rights reserved.

All articles, scripts and material located at the Internet address of http://www.idevelopment.info is the copyright of Jeffrey M. Hunter and is
protected under copyright laws of the United States. This document may not be hosted on any other site without my express, prior, written
permission. Application to host any of the material elsewhere can be made by contacting me at jhunter@idevelopment.info.

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_tips/Data_Guard/DG_52.shtml 30/03/2011
DBA Tips Archive for Oracle Page 8 of 8

I have made every effort and taken great care in making sure that the material included on my web site is technically accurate, but I disclaim any
and all responsibility for any loss, damage or destruction of data or any other property which may arise from relying on it. I will in no case be liable
for any monetary damages arising from such loss, damage or destruction.

Last modified on
Wednesday, 23-Feb-2011 12:16:34 EST
Page Count: 312

http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_tips/Data_Guard/DG_52.shtml 30/03/2011