Oracle Database 11g-Underground Advice for Database Administrators -- Table of Contents -- Oracle Database 11g-Underground Advice for Database Administrators -- Credits -- About the author -- About the reviewers -- Preface -- What this book covers -- What you need for this book -- Who this book is for -- Conventions -- Reader feedback -- Customer support -- Errata -- Piracy -- Questions -- 1. When to Step Away from the Keyboard -- Protecting and defending -- Choosing your tools -- Graphic-based, command-line Oracle tools and usage -- Staying away from dinosaurs -- Insisting on help -- What does a DBA do all day? -- Prioritizing tasks-daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly -- Daily -- Weekly -- Monthly -- Quarterly -- Yearly -- SLAs: Why isn't the database down anymore? -- Avoiding major blunders -- Summary -- 2. Maintaining Oracle Standards -- Adapting to constant change -- Database concepts -- Multiple ORACLE_HOME(s) -- Keeping the environment clean -- Oracle's Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) -- 11g differences in the OFA standard -- XWINDOWS and GUI displays -- Automating day-to-day tasks -- DBMS_SCHEDULER -- OS cron utility executing a scheduled task on a Unix server -- OEM Console plus the Intelligent Agent -- 11g Diagnosability Framework -- Advisors and checkers -- Missing temp file resolution -- Environmental variables and scripting -- Guidelines for scripting -- Separating the configuration file -- Host commands relative location -- Separating the variable part of the script into its own configuration file -- Don't hardcode values -- reference a configuration file and password file at runtime -- Putting variables at the top of the script with curly braces -- Moving functions to a centralized file to be reused -- Validating the use of the script -- Using SQL to generate code -- Helpful Unix commands.

Reducing operating system differences with common tools -- Configuration management, release management, and change control -- Configuration management -- Using OCM in disconnected mode with masking -- Mass deployment utility -- Release management -- DBA issues with patching -- Applying a patch without integrating MOS with OCM -- Using the new patch plan functionality with OCM installed and uploaded to MOS -- Change control -- Where, when, and who to call for help -- My Oracle Support -- Documentation library -- Summary -- 3. Tracking the Bits and Bytes -- Dump block -- Demonstration of data travel path -- Location of trace files -- Running dump block SQL statements -- Identifying files and blocks -- Legend for Trace Files: -- Tracking the SCN through trace files -- Single Row Insert -- Commit of a single row insert -- Single row update and corresponding undo block -- Commit of a single row update -- Oracle's RDBMS Log Miner utility -- Turn on archivelog mode -- Add supplemental logging -- Identification key logging -- Table-level supplemental logging -- Flash(back) Recovery Area (FRA) -- Automatic Undo Management (AUM) -- Identifying data in undo segments by flashing back to timestamp -- When to use Log Miner -- Identifying the data needed to restore -- SCN, timestamp, or log sequence number -- Pseudo column ORA_ROWSCN -- Flashback Transaction Query and Backout -- Enabling flashback logs -- Flashback Table -- Flashback Transaction Query with pseudo columns -- Flashback Transaction Backout -- Using strings to remove binary components -- Summary -- 4. Achieving Maximum Uptime -- Maximum Availability Architecture (MAA) -- Downtime-planned or unplanned -- MAA with commodity hardware: Case study -- Optimizing Oracle Database High Availability -- To archive or not to archive, you pick the mode -- Multiple archive destinations.

Moving the archive destination in an emergency -- Using a different disk device or disk mount -- Monitoring all hard drive space and Archivelog space -- Database compatibility parameter with spfile, pfile management -- Dealing with storage-RAID, SAME, ASM, and OMF -- RAID-Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks -- SAME-Stripe and Mirror Everything -- ASM-Automatic Storage Management -- Recommendations for implementing ASM -- Mirrored files-control files and online redo logs -- Autoextending data files -- Auditing, log files, and max dump file size -- What is currently being audited? -- Auditing Session Activity -- Other logs to monitor -- Data dictionary healthcheck -- SQL*Net hardening, tuning, and troubleshooting -- Troubleshooting -- What can go wrong? -- Grid Control High Availability and Disaster Recovery -- Recommended installation for GC 10.2.0.5+ -- Why should I install a separate database? -- Cookbook for silent install and configuring later -- Migrating GC repositories -- Transportable tablespace migrations -- Keeping the repository highly available -- Repository backups, restores, or imports -- MAA-repository on a physical standby database -- OMS and agents' high availability -- Cloning Management agents -- GC at a very large site -- Summary -- 5. Data Guard and Flashback -- Physical, snapshot, and logical standbys -- Physical standby database -- Snapshot standby database -- Logical standby database -- Commodity hardware and mixed environments -- What is Data Guard broker? -- What controls the Data Guard broker? -- Which tool is best? -- Start with the default configuration-maximum performance -- Utilizing multiple standby sites -- Protection modes and real-time apply -- Maximum performance (default) -- Maximum performance recommendations -- Maximum availability -- Maximum availability recommendations.

Maximum protection and recommendations -- Database states -- Manual failover with physical standby -- Manual failover with DGMGRL -- Flashback and guaranteed restore points -- Possible testing/recovery scenarios for Flashback and Data Guard -- Lost-write detection using a physical standby database -- Corruption, patch reversal, upgrades, or testing scenarios -- Reinstate failed primary scenario -- Troubleshooting the logical standby -- Options for resolving errors that stop the SQL Apply process -- How to skip a single transaction -- Active Data Guard and RMAN -- Other Data Guard notes and features -- Summary -- 6. Extended RMAN -- Recovery goals determine backup configuration -- Backup types and the default configuration -- Backup incremental levels -- Full backup -- Logical backup -- Oracle's suggested backup: What is missing? -- Controlfiles-an important part of backup and recovery -- How often should backups occur? -- Default configuration details -- Oracle's recommended backup strategy -- Issues with incremental merge backups -- Restore and recovery comparison -- Recommendations for Incremental Merge backup -- Calculating the FRA disk space needed -- Catalog versus controlfile RMAN recordkeeping and retention policies -- RMAN stored script and substitution variables -- Retention policies: Recovery window or redundancy? -- Not needed (OBSOLETE) versus not found (EXPIRED) -- What if I want to keep certain backups? -- Corruption detection -- Physical corruption -- Logical corruption -- Commands and utilities that detect corruption -- DBVERIFY -- RMAN VALIDATE or BACKUP VALIDATE command -- CTAS -- Export utility or Data Pump -- Which utility should be used? -- What should I do if corruption is detected? -- Data Recovery Adviser -- What does RMAN backup, restore, and recover? -- Possible interruptions to the recovery process.

What doesn't RMAN backup, restore, and recover? -- Online redo: Key to consistency -- User-managed backups -- What do I do before starting a restore and recovery? -- Find the most recent controlfile backup -- Find the backup you want to restore -- Restoring the controlfile -- Restoring the database -- Full recovery -- Point-in-Time Recovery -- Verifying that the recovery is complete -- Simplified recovery through resetlogs -- RMAN cloning and standbys-physical, snapshot, or logical -- Clones, DBIDs, and incarnations -- Creating a cloned database -- Post-cloning tasks -- Creating a standby database -- Physical standby -- Scheduled maintenance/cataloging of archivelogs -- Rolling forward a standby using incremental -- Rolling incremental for monthly updates to data warehouses -- The DBMS_BACKUP_RESTORE package -- Summary -- 7. Migrating to 11g: A Step-Ordered Approach -- Oracle net services -- Client compatibility (SQL*Net, JDBC, ODBC) -- RMAN binary, virtual/catalog, and database -- Grid Control-database repository and agents -- ASM, CFS, and RDBMS within an Oracle Grid infrastructure -- Recommended order of migration -- Installation of major versions, maintenance releases, and patches -- Release installation -- PatchSet installation-cloned ORACLE_HOME -- Database upgrade methods -- How long does the database upgrade take? -- Database Upgrade Assistant (DBUA) -- RMAN -- Using RMAN as part of a manual upgrade process -- Downgrading with RMAN -- Transportable Tablespaces (TTS) -- Preparatory steps for TTS migrations -- Using TTS for upgrades -- TTS cookbook -- Recreating an unrecoverable database with TTS -- Using TTS to add skipped read-only tablespaces during duplication -- Using TTS to merge two ASM databases into one -- Sharing read-only tablespaces between different databases with TTS -- Cross-platform migrations with a transportable database.

Physical and/or snapshot standbys.