Backup, Recovery & Data Guard Flashcards

Which Data Guard protection mode allows the primary to continue even if the standby is unavailable?

Answer: Maximum Performance

Maximum Performance allows the primary to continue operations even if no standby database is reachable, prioritizing availability over data protection.

What is a 'fast-start failover' in Oracle Data Guard Broker?

Answer: Automatic failover initiated by the observer without DBA intervention

Fast-start failover (FSFO) uses an observer process to automatically promote a standby when the primary becomes unavailable, without DBA action.

After an incomplete recovery, which command must be used to open the database?

Answer: ALTER DATABASE OPEN RESETLOGS

After incomplete recovery, RESETLOGS is mandatory to reset the log sequence and establish a new incarnation of the database.

Which background process is responsible for shipping redo logs from primary to standby in Oracle Data Guard?

Answer: LNSn

The Log Network Service (LNSn) process on the primary reads and ships redo data to the Remote File Server (RFS) process on the standby.

In RMAN, what is the difference between an IMAGE COPY and a BACKUPSET?

Answer: Image copies are exact byte-for-byte replicas of datafiles; backupsets are RMAN-proprietary format

An image copy is an exact duplicate of a datafile usable by Oracle directly, while a backupset is RMAN's proprietary multiplexed format.

Which parameter in the standby redo log determines how many standby redo log groups are recommended?

Answer: One more group per thread than online redo logs

Oracle recommends having at least one more standby redo log group per thread than the number of online redo log groups on the primary.

What does RMAN's BLOCK CHANGE TRACKING feature improve?

Answer: Incremental backup performance by recording changed blocks since the last backup

Block change tracking records which blocks have changed since the last backup in a tracking file, allowing incremental backups to skip unchanged blocks.