RMAN ACTIVE DUPLICATE — RUNNER DOC

 

RMAN ACTIVE DUPLICATE — RUNNER DOC

Oracle 19c  |  Target → Auxiliary (DR Clone)

# Env: OL7.9 / 19.3.0.0.0

 * Note: This test is done in my lab machine, I will suggest first try in your lab for the test, then use it.

Environment reference

 

# SOURCE (TARGET)

ORACLE_SID=FINPRD

DB_NAME=FINPRD

ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.3.0/dbhome_1

ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle

HOST=ora-prod-01.corp.internal

TNS_ALIAS=FINPRD

# DESTINATION (AUXILIARY / DR)

ORACLE_SID=FINDR

DB_NAME=FINDR

ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.3.0/dbhome_1

ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle

HOST=ora-dr-01.corp.internal

TNS_ALIAS=FINDR

# PATHS — auxiliary host

ORADATA=/data01/oradata/FINDR

FRA=/fra01/FINDR

ADMIN=/u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR

# RMAN SYS password  →  do NOT hardcode in prod, use wallet

# SYS_PWD=<get from vault or /etc/oracle/.sys_cred>

 

 Pre Check – Source host

[01] Verify source DB — open mode, archivelog, force logging

sqlplus / as sysdba

SELECT name, open_mode, log_mode, force_logging FROM v$database;

 

→ expected output:

SQL> SELECT name, open_mode, log_mode, force_logging FROM v$database;

NAME      OPEN_MODE            LOG_MODE     FOR

--------- -------------------- ------------ ---

FINPRD    READ WRITE           ARCHIVELOG   YES

1 row selected.

 

# WARNING: If FOR=NO  →  ALTER DATABASE FORCE LOGGING;  then re-check.

 

[02] Check source listener — FINPRD must show READY

# On ora-prod-01.corp.internal

lsnrctl status LISTENER

tnsping FINPRD

 

→ expected (relevant lines only):

Service "FINPRD" has 1 instance(s).

Instance "FINPRD", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service...

TNS Ping Utility for Linux: Version 19.0.0.0.0

OK (10 msec)

 

# WARNING: If FINPRD shows BLOCKED or UNKNOWN — DB is not fully open. Do not proceed.

 

OS PREPARATION  —  AUXILIARY HOST

[03] Set env — run this first in every new shell session

# ssh oracle@ora-dr-01.corp.internal

export ORACLE_SID=FINDR

export ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle

export ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.3.0/dbhome_1

export PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

# quick sanity

echo $ORACLE_SID && which sqlplus && which rman

 

→ expected:

FINDR

/u01/app/oracle/product/19.3.0/dbhome_1/bin/sqlplus

/u01/app/oracle/product/19.3.0/dbhome_1/bin/rman

 

[04] Create directory structure on auxiliary

# WARNING: Run as root or oracle with sudo. RMAN will ORA-01119 if these don't exist.

 

mkdir -p /data01/oradata/FINDR

mkdir -p /fra01/FINDR

mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR/adump

mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR/dpdump

mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR/hdump

chown -R oracle:oinstall /data01/oradata /fra01

chmod -R 755 /data01/oradata /fra01 /u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR

# verify

ls -ld /data01/oradata/FINDR /fra01/FINDR /u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR/adump

 

→ all 3 lines should show oracle:oinstall ownership:

drwxr-xr-x 2 oracle oinstall 6 Nov 12 09:14 /data01/oradata/FINDR

drwxr-xr-x 2 oracle oinstall 6 Nov 12 09:14 /fra01/FINDR

drwxr-xr-x 2 oracle oinstall 6 Nov 12 09:14 /u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR/adump

 

[05] Create password file — must match SYS password on source

# password must match ora-prod-01 SYS password exactly

orapwd file=$ORACLE_HOME/dbs/orapwFINDR \

password=<SYS_PASSWORD> \

entries=5 \

force=y \

format=12

ls -lh $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/orapwFINDR

 

→ expected:

-rw-r----- 1 oracle oinstall 2.0K Nov 12 09:16 /u01/app/oracle/product/19.3.0/dbhome_1/dbs/orapwFINDR

 

# WARNING: ORA-01017 during RMAN connect = password mismatch. Recreate orapwd with correct password.

 

[06] Create minimal pfile — just enough for NOMOUNT

# INFO: Only parameters needed for NOMOUNT. RMAN will set the rest from source spfile during duplicate. 

cat > $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/initFINDR.ora << 'EOF'

db_name=FINDR

db_unique_name=FINDR

sga_target=2G

pga_aggregate_target=512M

db_block_size=8192

enable_pluggable_database=false

audit_file_dest=/u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR/adump

diagnostic_dest=/u01/app/oracle

EOF

cat $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/initFINDR.ora

 

# INFO: If source is CDB → set enable_pluggable_database=true

 

[07] Start auxiliary in NOMOUNT

sqlplus / as sysdba

STARTUP NOMOUNT PFILE='/u01/app/oracle/product/19.3.0/dbhome_1/dbs/initFINDR.ora';

 

→ expected:

SQL> STARTUP NOMOUNT PFILE='...';

ORACLE instance started.

Total System Global Area 2147483648 bytes

Fixed Size                  8900952 bytes

Variable Size             503316480 bytes

Database Buffers         1627389952 bytes

Redo Buffers                7876608 bytes

 

-- validate instance came up

SELECT instance_name, status FROM v$instance;

-- Expected: FINDR   STARTED

 

TNS + LISTENER  —  AUXILIARY HOST

[08] Add both aliases to tnsnames.ora on auxiliary

vi $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/tnsnames.ora

# --- append these entries ---

 

FINPRD =

(DESCRIPTION =

(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = ora-prod-01.corp.internal)(PORT = 1521))

(CONNECT_DATA =

(SERVER = DEDICATED)

(SERVICE_NAME = FINPRD)

)

)

FINDR =

(DESCRIPTION =

(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = ora-dr-01.corp.internal)(PORT = 1521))

(CONNECT_DATA =

(SERVER = DEDICATED)

(SERVICE_NAME = FINDR)

)

)

 

[09] Configure STATIC listener entry — required while DB is NOMOUNT

# WARNING: Dynamic registration won't work in NOMOUNT. Static SID_LIST entry is mandatory or RMAN connection will fail.

 

vi $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/listener.ora

 

LISTENER =

(DESCRIPTION_LIST =

(DESCRIPTION =

(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = ora-dr-01.corp.internal)(PORT = 1521))

)

)

SID_LIST_LISTENER =

(SID_LIST =

(SID_DESC =

(GLOBAL_DBNAME = FINDR)

(ORACLE_HOME = /u01/app/oracle/product/19.3.0/dbhome_1)

(SID_NAME = FINDR)

)

)

 

lsnrctl stop LISTENER

lsnrctl start LISTENER

lsnrctl status LISTENER | grep -A2 'Service\|SID'

 

→ FINDR will show UNKNOWN — that is normal for static entry in NOMOUNT:

Service "FINDR" has 1 instance(s).

Instance "FINDR", status UNKNOWN, has 1 handler(s) for this service...

 

[10] Validate TNS + actual login to source before running RMAN

tnsping FINPRD   # must be OK

tnsping FINDR    # must be OK

# test real connection to source

sqlplus sys/<SYS_PASSWORD>@FINPRD as sysdba

SELECT name, open_mode FROM v$database;

EXIT;

 

# WARNING: If tnsping OK but sqlplus fails → firewall blocking 1521, or wrong password. Fix before RMAN.

 

RMAN ACTIVE DUPLICATE

[11] Connect RMAN to both target and auxiliary

# run from ora-dr-01 (auxiliary host)

rman

CONNECT TARGET sys/<SYS_PASSWORD>@FINPRD;

CONNECT AUXILIARY sys/<SYS_PASSWORD>@FINDR;

 

→ expected:

Recovery Manager: Release 19.0.0.0.0 - Production

connected to target database: FINPRD (DBID=3421876501)

connected to auxiliary database: FINDR (not mounted)

 

# WARNING: ORA-12541 → listener not running or static entry missing (re-check step 09).

# WARNING: ORA-01017 → password file wrong or not created (re-check step 05).

 

[12] Execute DUPLICATE — monitor alert log in parallel session

# INFO: Open a second SSH session now and tail the alert log before hitting run.

 

# --- SECOND TERMINAL (monitor) ---

tail -100f /u01/app/oracle/diag/rdbms/findr/FINDR/trace/alert_FINDR.log

 

# --- RMAN SESSION (step 11 continued) ---

RUN {

ALLOCATE CHANNEL c1 TYPE DISK;

ALLOCATE CHANNEL c2 TYPE DISK;

ALLOCATE AUXILIARY CHANNEL a1 TYPE DISK;

ALLOCATE AUXILIARY CHANNEL a2 TYPE DISK;

DUPLICATE TARGET DATABASE TO FINDR

FROM ACTIVE DATABASE

SPFILE

PARAMETER_VALUE_CONVERT 'FINPRD','FINDR',

'/data01/oradata/FINPRD','/data01/oradata/FINDR',

'/fra01/FINPRD','/fra01/FINDR'

SET DB_UNIQUE_NAME='FINDR'

SET DB_NAME='FINDR'

SET INSTANCE_NAME='FINDR'

SET AUDIT_FILE_DEST='/u01/app/oracle/admin/FINDR/adump'

SET DIAGNOSTIC_DEST='/u01/app/oracle'

SET DB_FILE_NAME_CONVERT

'/data01/oradata/FINPRD','/data01/oradata/FINDR'

SET LOG_FILE_NAME_CONVERT

'/data01/oradata/FINPRD','/data01/oradata/FINDR'

SET LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_1='LOCATION=/fra01/FINDR'

SET CONTROL_FILES='/data01/oradata/FINDR/control01.ctl',

'/fra01/FINDR/control02.ctl'

NOFILENAMECHECK;

}

 

→ last line on success:

Finished Duplicate Db at 12-NOV-2024 11:43:07

 

# ORA-19505 / ORA-17628  →  disk space issue on auxiliary paths

# ORA-01119              →  directory missing, re-check step 04

# Channel drops mid-run  →  network instability or NET_TIMEOUT too low

#   workaround: add to RMAN config →  CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK PARAMS 'NET_TIMEOUT=300';

 

POST-DUPLICATE STEPS

 

 

[13] Confirm DB opened — check role, mode, log_mode

sqlplus / as sysdba

SELECT name, db_unique_name, open_mode, log_mode, database_role

FROM   v$database;

 

→ expected:

NAME   DB_UNIQUE_NAME  OPEN_MODE   LOG_MODE   DATABASE_ROLE

------ --------------- ----------- ---------- ----------------

FINDR  FINDR           READ WRITE  ARCHIVELOG PRIMARY

 

[14] Confirm SPFILE is active — not running off pfile

SELECT value FROM v$parameter WHERE name = 'spfile';

-- must return non-null path

-- also check on OS

ls -lh $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/spfileFINDR.ora

 

# WARNING: If spfile value is NULL → RMAN didn't apply SPFILE clause. Check duplicate command, re-run.

 

[15] Verify all files are on auxiliary paths — no FINPRD leftover

-- must return ZERO rows

SELECT 'datafile' src, name FROM v$datafile  WHERE name LIKE '%FINPRD%'

UNION ALL

SELECT 'tempfile' src, name FROM v$tempfile   WHERE name LIKE '%FINPRD%'

UNION ALL

SELECT 'logfile'  src, member FROM v$logfile  WHERE member LIKE '%FINPRD%';

-- if rows returned → file rename needed before production use

 

→ expected:

no rows selected

 

[16] Check redo logs + tempfiles are online

SELECT group#, status, members FROM v$log ORDER BY 1;

-- one group should be CURRENT, others INACTIVE/UNUSED

SELECT file#, name, status FROM v$tempfile;

-- status should be ONLINE

 

[17] Check invalid objects + registry

SELECT count(*) invalid_obj FROM dba_objects WHERE status='INVALID';

-- compare vs source; minor count is acceptable if same on source

SELECT comp_name, version, status FROM dba_registry ORDER BY comp_name;

-- all components should be VALID

 

[18] Force listener re-registration + confirm READY

ALTER SYSTEM REGISTER;

-- wait 30 sec then:

-- (from OS)

lsnrctl status LISTENER | grep -A2 FINDR

 

→ after registration (was UNKNOWN in step 09, now should be READY):

Service "FINDR" has 1 instance(s).

Instance "FINDR", status READY, has 1 handler(s) for this service...

 

[19] Take immediate backup of controlfile + spfile

rman target /

BACKUP CURRENT CONTROLFILE FORMAT '/fra01/FINDR/cf_%d_%T_%s.bkp';

BACKUP SPFILE FORMAT '/fra01/FINDR/spfile_%d_%T_%s.bkp';

LIST BACKUP SUMMARY;

 

FINAL VALIDATION  —  PASTE & RUN

 

sqlplus / as sysdba << 'EOF'

set linesize 120 pagesize 50

prompt === 1. DB IDENTITY ===

SELECT name, db_unique_name, created FROM v$database;

prompt === 2. OPEN MODE + ROLE ===

SELECT open_mode, database_role, log_mode FROM v$database;

prompt === 3. INSTANCE STATUS ===

SELECT instance_name, status, database_status FROM v$instance;

prompt === 4. REDO LOG STATUS ===

SELECT group#, status, members, bytes/1048576 mb FROM v$log ORDER BY 1;

prompt === 5. TEMP TABLESPACE ===

SELECT tablespace_name, status FROM dba_tablespaces WHERE contents='TEMPORARY';

prompt === 6. CONTROLFILE STATUS ===

SELECT name, status FROM v$controlfile;

prompt === 7. SPFILE IN USE ===

SELECT value FROM v$parameter WHERE name='spfile';

prompt === 8. ARCHIVE DEST STATUS ===

SELECT dest_name, status, target FROM v$archive_dest WHERE status='VALID';

prompt === 9. INVALID OBJECTS COUNT ===

SELECT count(*) invalid_count FROM dba_objects WHERE status='INVALID';

prompt === 10. CURRENT SCN ===

SELECT current_scn FROM v$database;

EXIT;

EOF

 

# OS-level sanity

ps -ef | grep pmon | grep -i findr    # ora_pmon_FINDR must be running

lsnrctl status | grep FINDR           # status READY expected

 

# END OF RUNNER DOC # Rev: 1.0  |  Tested: 19.3.0.0.0 / OL7.9

 

Oracle Autonomous Database Internals: What Is Really Automated

Beyond the Marketing - What ADB Actually Does vs What DBAs Still Own

23 March 2026

Chetan Yadav — Senior Oracle & Cloud DBA

⏱️ 13–14 min read

⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 13–14 minutes

ADW • ATP • Auto-Indexing • Auto-Patching • Auto-Scaling • What DBAs Still Own

⚙️ Environment Referenced in This Article

Service: Oracle Autonomous Database on OCI (Shared & Dedicated Exadata Infrastructure)
Workload Types Tested: ADW, ATP, AJD  •  Oracle DB Version: 19c base + 23ai features on ADB
Workload: 2.8 TB OLTP + 6.1 TB analytics  •  Scale: 4–32 ECPU auto-scaling  •  Region: OCI ap-mumbai-1 primary, ap-hyderabad-1 DR

"The self-driving database." Oracle's marketing for Autonomous Database promises that the DBA is no longer needed — the database manages itself. Patches itself. Tunes itself. Scales itself. After running Oracle ADB in production for financial and analytics workloads across multiple OCI regions, I can tell you the reality is more nuanced and more interesting than the marketing suggests.

Oracle Autonomous Database genuinely automates things that used to consume enormous DBA time — patching, backup, storage management, and a meaningful subset of performance tuning. But it does not eliminate the need for database expertise. It changes what that expertise is applied to. The DBA who understands what ADB actually automates and what it does not will be dramatically more effective than one who takes the "self-driving" claim at face value.

This guide opens the hood on Oracle ADB internals: how auto-indexing actually works, what happens inside auto-patching, when auto-scaling kicks in, and which critical responsibilities remain firmly with the DBA and architect.

Step-by-step installation of Oracle Database 19c (64-bit) on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4

Oracle Database 19c Installation Runner

Platform: RHEL 9.4 (64-bit)

Step-by-step installation of Oracle Database 19c (64-bit) on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4.

1. Assumed the Installer is downloaded 

File name:

LINUX.X64_193000_db_home.zip

Upload it to the server 

/stage/oracle/LINUX.X64_193000_db_home.zip

2.  Configure Hostname

hostname.

hostnamectl

3. Configure /etc/hosts

Edit hosts file.

vi /etc/hosts

4. Install Oracle Preinstall Package

Configure prerequisites 

dnf install -y oracle-database-preinstall-19c

*Note :(this pre install steps will automatically create the require user, group and required lib and rpm)

5. Configure SELinux

Edit SELinux configuration.

vi /etc/selinux/config

Set:

SELINUX=permissive

Apply immediately:

setenforce 0

6.  Disable Firewall

Stop firewall.

systemctl stop firewalld

systemctl disable firewalld

7. Create Oracle Directory Structure

Create Oracle installation directories using your custom path.

mkdir -p /Chetan/practice/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1

mkdir -p /Chetan/practice/u02/oradata

Set ownership.

chown -R oracle:oinstall /Chetan

chmod -R 775 /Chetan

8.  Configure Oracle Environment

Login as oracle user.

su - oracle

Create scripts directory.

mkdir ~/scripts

Create environment script.

vi ~/scripts/setEnv.sh

Add:

export TMP=/tmp

export TMPDIR=$TMP

export ORACLE_HOSTNAME=rhel9-oracle.localdomain

export ORACLE_BASE=/Chetan/practice/u01/app/oracle

export ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1

export ORACLE_SID=cdb1

export PDB_NAME=pdb1

export DATA_DIR=/Chetan/practice/u02/oradata

export PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:/lib:/usr/lib

Load environment automatically.

echo ". ~/scripts/setEnv.sh" >> ~/.bash_profile

Reload profile.

source ~/.bash_profile

 

9. Extract Oracle Software

Navigate to Oracle Home.

cd /Chetan/practice/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1

Unzip software.

unzip -oq /stage/oracle/LINUX.X64_193000_db_home.zip

10 . Run Oracle Installer

Start installer.

./runInstaller

Select:

Install Database Software Only

Edition: Enterprise Edition

Oracle Base:

/Chetan/practice/u01/app/oracle

Oracle Home:

/Chetan/practice/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1

________________________________________

11. Start Oracle Listener

Switch to oracle user.

Start listener.

lsnrctl start

Verify listener.

lsnrctl status

________________________________________

12. Create Database Using DBCA

Run Database Configuration Assistant.

dbca

Select:

Create Database

General Purpose Database

Create Container Database

Example configuration:

SID:

cdb1

PDB:

pdb1

 

Datafile location:

/Chetan/practice/u02/oradata

13. Verify Database

Connect to database.

sqlplus / as sysdba

Check database.

select name, open_mode from v$database;

Check PDB.

show pdbs;

Installation Completed

Oracle Database 19c is now successfully installed.

Oracle Home:

/Chetan/practice/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/dbhome_1

Database files:

/Chetan/practice/u02/oradata

Oracle Database 23ai Architecture: AI-Native Internals for DBAs

What Actually Changed Inside the Engine — Beyond the Marketing

16 March 2026

Chetan Yadav — Senior Oracle & Cloud DBA

⏱️ 11–12 min read

⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 11–12 minutes

AI Vector Search • Select AI • JSON Duality • True Cache • SQL Domains • Lock-Free Reservations

⚙️ Environment Used in This Article

Oracle Database: 23ai (23.4) Enterprise Edition  •  Platform: Oracle Linux 8.9 on OCI & on-premises x86
Workload: Mixed OLTP + AI/ML vector search workloads  •  DB Size: 4.2 TB
New Features Tested: AI Vector Search, Select AI, JSON Duality Views, True Cache, SQL Domains, Lock-Free Reservations, Boolean datatype, Schema Privileges

Oracle called it "23ai" for a reason. This is not a routine point release with incremental improvements. The AI suffix signals a deliberate architectural shift — Oracle has embedded AI capabilities directly into the database engine itself, not as an external add-on or middleware layer.

But for DBAs and architects the most important question is not "what did Oracle announce?" It is "what actually changed inside the engine, and what does that mean for how I design, tune, and operate my databases?" The marketing materials will tell you Oracle 23ai is revolutionary. This guide will tell you which features are genuinely production-ready, which ones still need maturity, and what the internal architecture changes mean for your workload.

I have tested Oracle 23ai extensively on both OCI and on-premises environments running real OLTP and vector workloads. This guide reflects what I found in practice, not what the release notes promise.