Dennis, Thanks for your comments. I have just received the new 36 GIG drives for the Alpha system and I plan to back the database up to disk and then during the day copy the backups to tape for archival purposes. I tried to use OEM RMAN backup on my test box to play-and-learn but it does not have the software for the tape manager. Disk space is also scarce on the test box so I can't do a database backup with RMAN until I install a new 60 GIG drive. If I understand the RMAN manuals, a "database" backup is needed before you do the incremental. I need the new disk space to do a database backup. It's been a lot of fun making do with what you have and learning to grovel and plead. Thanks, Ron ROR mª¿ªm
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 05/29/02 10:48AM >>> Ron - Couple of points for you to consider: - If you only have a single Oracle server, you may want to consider using the control file to store the RMAN information. - Ideally, you will have another system with licensed Oracle to host your RMAN catalog. - You can host your RMAN catalog in a separate instance on the same server, but you should carefully examine the devices used by each instance so you don't have a single point of failure. You don't want your production instance failure to wipe out your RMAN instance. - If you only have one production server, and don't plan future expansions, RMAN may be more trouble than it is worth. Its greatest benefit is at sites with many, many instances/servers. - You might want to consider using RMAN to write to disk as Sujatha suggested so you only have one thing to learn at a time. That was the advice I was given. Dennis Williams DBA Lifetouch, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Ron Rogers INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).