Setting Up RMAN for Use with a Shared Server

RMAN cannot connect to the target database through a shared server dispatcher. RMAN requires a dedicated server process. Nevertheless, you can connect specified sessions to dedicated servers, even when the target is configured for a shared server.

To ensure that RMAN does not connect to a dispatcher when the target database is configured for a shared server, the net service name used by RMAN must include (SERVER=DEDICATED) in the CONNECT_DATA attribute of the connect string.

Oracle Net configuration varies greatly from system to system. The following procedure illustrates only one method. This scenario assumes that the following service name in the tnsnames.ora connects to the target database using the shared server architecture, where inst1 is a value of the SERVICE_NAMES initialization parameter:

inst1_shs =
  (DESCRIPTION=
    (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=inst1_host)(port1521))
    (CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=inst1)(SERVER=shared))
  ) 

To use RMAN with a shared server:

1. Create a net service name in the tnsnames.ora file that connects to the nonshared SID. For example, enter:

   inst1_ded =
     (DESCRIPTION=
       (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=inst1_host)(port1521))
       (CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=inst1)(SERVER=dedicated))
     )
   
   

2. Start SQL*Plus and then connect using both the shared server and dedicated server service names to confirm the mode of each session. For example, to connect to a dedicated session you can issue:

   CONNECT SYS/oracle@inst1_ded
   SELECT SERVER 
     FROM V$SESSION 
     WHERE SID = (SELECT DISTINCT SID FROM V$MYSTAT);
   
   SERVER   
   ---------
   DEDICATED
   1 row selected.
   
   

   To connect to a shared server session, you can issue:

   CONNECT SYS/oracle@inst1_shs AS SYSDBA
   SELECT SERVER 
     FROM V$SESSION 
     WHERE SID = (SELECT DISTINCT SID FROM V$MYSTAT);
   
   SERVER   
   ---------
   SHARED 
   1 row selected.
     
   

3. Connect to the target database (and optionally the recovery catalog) with the dedicated service name. For example, enter:

   % rman TARGET SYS/oracle@inst1_ded CATALOG rman/cat@catdb
   

   
   

   See Also: Your platform-specific Oracle documentation and your Oracle Database Net Services Reference for a complete description of Oracle Net connect string syntax