RMAN Command Line Client

Compilation Phase

During the compilation phase, RMAN determines which objects the command will access (for example, resolving a tablespace name into its component datafiles). Then, RMAN constructs a sequence of remote procedure calls (RPCs) that instruct the server sessions on the target database to perform the desired operation.

Execution Phase

During the execution phase, RMAN sends the RPC calls to the target database, monitors their progress, and collects the results. If more than one channel is allocated, then RMAN can execute certain commands in parallel so that all of the channels' target database sessions are concurrently executing an RPC call.

Entering Commands at the RMAN Prompt

To run RMAN commands interactively, start RMAN and then type commands into the command-line interface. For example, you can start RMAN from the UNIX command shell and then execute interactive commands as follows:

% rman TARGET SYS/oracle@trgt CATALOG rman/cat@catdb

After the RMAN prompt is displayed, you can enter commands such as the following:

RMAN> BACKUP DATABASE; 

Using RMAN with Command Files

A command file is a text file which contains RMAN commands as you would enter them at the command line. You can run the a command file by specifying its name on the command line. The contents of the command file will be interpreted as if entered at the command line. If the LOG command line argument is specified, RMAN directs output to the named log file. Command files are one way to automate scheduled backups through an operating system job control facility.

In this example, a sample RMAN script is placed into a command file called commandfile.rcv. You can run this file from the operating system command line and write the output into the log file outfile.txt as follows:

% rman TARGET / CATALOG rman/cat@catdb CMDFILE commandfile.rcv LOG outfile.txt

Stored Scripts

A stored script is a block of RMAN job commands that is stored in the recovery catalog. By storing scripts in the recovery catalog, the script is available to any RMAN client that connects to the catalog and the target database. Stored scripts can be associated with a single database in the catalog, or they can be global stored scripts, which can be executed against any target database in the catalog.

Commands Valid Only in RUN Blocks

There are RMAN commands which are only valid in RUN blocks. These typically involve setting up the environment within which the statements in the RUN block will execute. Typical of this group are ALLOCATE CHANNEL and SET NEWNAME FOR DATAFILE. Using these commands outside of a RUN block will generate an error.

Commands Not Valid in RUN Blocks

There are a number of RMAN commands which cannot be used in RUN blocks. Typically these are used to control the RMAN environment (connecting to different databases, or configuring RMAN defaults), or to manage or query the recovery catalog (including creating and using stored scripts). Here are some examples:

• CONNECT

• CONFIGURE

• CREATE CATALOG, DROP CATALOG, UPGRADE CATALOG

• CREATE SCRIPT, DELETE SCRIPT, REPLACE SCRIPT

• LIST

• REPORT

You can include these commands inside command files, as long as they are not wrapped inside a RUN block. You cannot use them inside a stored script from the recovery catalog, because the contents of a stored script are executed within a RUN block.

Directing RMAN Output to a Log File

When you run RMAN in command line mode, it sends the output to the terminal. If you specify the LOG option, then RMAN writes the output to a specified log file instead.

Output for currently executing RMAN jobs is also stored in the V$RMAN_OUTPUT view, which reads only from memory (that is, the information is not stored in the control file). The V$RMAN_STATUS view contains metadata about jobs in progress as well as completed jobs. The metadata for completed jobs is stored in the control file.