Database Backup Administrators (DBA) are responsible to devise, implement, and manage a backup and recovery strategy to avoid data loss and to reconstruct a database in case of data loss. Oracle's Database Backup and Recovery solutions offer an integrated range of backup and recovery options, both on-premises and on Oracle Cloud, which help you to adopt a comprehensive approach to data protection.

Oracle's backup and recovery ecosystem is designed to support a secure backup strategy which includes short-term and long-term storage options, simplified backup administration, enhanced data protection, and sub-second recoverability in case of data loss. These are the critical components that constitute Oracle's backup and recovery ecosystem.

  1. Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN): Oracle's built-in backup and recovery engine for Oracle Databases. RMAN provides performance efficient and dependable protection. RMAN is fully integrated with the Oracle Database to perform a range of backup and recovery activities, including maintaining an RMAN repository of historical data about backups. As a Database Backup Administrator (DBA), you can use RMAN to connect to a target database, create and send backups directly to storage tape drives, hard disk drives, third-party storage devices, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Object Storage and the Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance (RA). You can access RMAN through the command line or through Oracle Enterprise Manager. Using RMAN and RMAN backups, you can easily duplicate a target database and also migrate a database from a source platform to a destination platform. RMAN maintains a repository of metadata about its operations. This metadata is always stored in the control file of a target database. You can also store the RMAN operational metadata in a separate database called the recovery catalog. The recovery catalog is a separate database schema used to record RMAN activity against one or more target databases. A recovery catalog preserves RMAN repository metadata if the control file is lost, making it much easier to restore and recover following the loss of the control file. RMAN uses the Fast Recovery Area (FRA) to store recovery-related files such as control file and online redo log copies, archived redo logs, flashback logs, and RMAN backups. The fast recovery area is an optional disk location of your choice and has a upper limit for storage space. Using retention policies, the database manages the storage space required for backups, archived redo logs, and other recovery-related files within the allocated space. Files that are no longer needed are eligible for deletion when RMAN must reclaim space for new files. 
  2. Oracle Secure Backup (OSB): A network based backup management application that can back up both databases and file system data to tape, disk, and cloud storage devices. Oracle Secure Backup serves as a system backup to tape (SBT) interface (media management layer) required for RMAN to send encrypted backups directly to tape storage. File-system data can be defined as the collection of files and file management structures on physical or logical storage. Oracle Secure Backup can initiate the backup for any type of file in a file system. You can schedule file system backups to occur at specified intervals. The Exadata Database Service on Cloud@Customer system can backup its file system data to Oracle Secure Backup. 
  3. Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance (Recovery Appliance): Oracle's Engineered System provides data protection for all Oracle Databases in the enterprise. Integrated with RMAN and Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control, Recovery Appliance (RA) provides a single backup repository for multiple databases. A protected database is a client database whose backups are managed by the Recovery Appliance. The Recovery Appliance Backup Module is an Oracle-supplied system backup to tape (SBT) library that functions as a media management library. RMAN uses the Recovery Appliance Backup Module to transfer backup data over the network to the Recovery Appliance. The Recovery Appliance metadata database is the Oracle database that runs within the Recovery Appliance. The RA metadata database stores configuration data such as definitions, protection policy definitions, and client database definitions. Exadata Database Service on Cloud@Customer has the ability to directly back up to Recovery Appliance. 
  4. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage: A cost-effective, secure, offsite storage service. This service also enables you to migrate your on-premises databases to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Object Storage for short term and long term backup storage. RMAN and the Recovery Appliance use the Oracle Database Backup Cloud module to backup on-premises databases to Object Storage (buckets). Oracle Cloud Databases use the OCI-managed automatic backups feature to send backups to the OCI Object Storage (buckets). Oracle Secure Backup uses Oracle Secure Backup cloud storage devices to backup and restore data to and from Object Storage. In OCI Object Storage, encryption is on by default so that the data stored in Object Storage is always encrypted. To migrate an on-premises database to Oracle Cloud, you can use RMAN and the Backup Cloud module to first save a backup to Object Storage and then instantiate the backup as a new Oracle Cloud database. 
  5. Autonomous Recovery Service: An Oracle Cloud subscription service for protecting Oracle Cloud Databases. Recovery Service is a fully managed service based on Oracle's Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance technology. Recovery Service delivers enhanced data protection capabilities for Oracle Database services running on OCI. Recovery Service helps organizations meet the business-critical needs to reduce ransomware risk, financial requirements for improved operational efficiency, and user expectations for cloud service simplicity. In the first release, Recovery Service supports data protection capabilities for the Oracle Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure service (ExaDB-D) and the Oracle Base Database service. Recovery Service processes backups, provides automated recovery validation, end-to-end encryption, and policy-driven backup retention. The continuous transfer of redo logs from a protected database to Recovery Service is called Real-time data protection. Recovery Service offers real-time data protection so that you can minimize the possibility of data loss and enhance database protection. For Oracle Cloud Infrastructure databases, such as ExaDB-D and Base Database, the OCI-managed Automatic Backups feature is the preferred method to back up and recover databases. You can use the OCI Console to enable the automatic backups feature and configure Recovery Service as the backup destination.