In the previous module, you learned about managing database redo log files.
In most environments, as a database administrator (DBA), you will find yourself with the related responsibility of archiving those redo log files.
Archiving in this context refers to the process of making an offline copy of every redo log file generated while the database is running.
These archived log files are crucial to your ability to recover the database should any data files become damaged.
In this module, you will learn how to perform the following tasks:
- Place a database in archivelog mode
- Control the archive log destination
- Specify the naming convention to use for archive log files
- Enable automatic archiving of log files
- Manually archive log files
- View the log history
How does a DBA archive redo log files?
A DBA can archive redo log files in Oracle using the following steps:
- Put the database in archivelog mode: This can be done by setting the "log_archive_mode" parameter to "true" in the "init.ora" file or by executing the "ALTER DATABASE ARCHIVELOG" command.
- Configure Automatic Archiving: This can be done by setting the "log_archive_start" parameter to "true" in the "init.ora" file or by executing the "ALTER SYSTEM SET log_archive_start=TRUE" command.
- Create a location for the archived redo log files: This can be done by creating a directory on the file system where the redo log files will be stored. This can be specified with the "log_archive_dest" parameter in the "init.ora" file.
- Configure the archiving process: This can be done by setting the "log_archive_format" parameter in the "init.ora" file. This parameter specifies the naming convention for the archived redo log files.
- Schedule a job to delete old archived redo log files: This can be done using the "Oracle Scheduler" or by using a third-party scheduling tool.
- 6.Monitor the archiving process: The DBA can monitor the archiving process using the "V$ARCHIVED_LOG" view to check if the redo logs are being archived and if there are any errors.
- Test the recovery process: DBA should test the recovery process by restoring a backup and recovering the database using the archived redo log files, to ensure that the recovery process works as expected.
In the next lesson, you will learn how to place a database into archivelog mode.
