System Management

System Management

Database Resource Manager – Allows for the database to control and limit the O/S resources given to a particular user or group of users.
Can specify multiple remote archive destinations for archive log files.
Automatically start multiple archive processes at database startup.
Automated Standby Databases – Enhancements that will automatically apply archive logs to standby dB.
Any database, including a standby database, can now be placed in READ-ONLY mode and queries can be run against it.
Fast-Start Fault Recovery – New to 8i. Consists of Fast-Start checkpointing, Fast-Start On-Demand Rollback and Fast-Start Parallel Rollback.
New database SUSPEND/RESUME commands that stop/start all I/O in the database. ALTER SYSTEM SUSPEND and ALTER SYSTEM RESUME.
Store character set id in the control file. Allows recovery when char-set is not the default. CREATE CONTROLFILE statement has a new argument to specify the character set.
RMAN recovery catalog no longer required to use RMAN. RMAN can read the control file, but the catalog is required to use the advanced functionality of RMAN.
RMAN updated to support version 2.0 of the Oracle Media Management API. Used to interface non-oracle backup products with RMAN. Is referred to as System Backup to Tape API, or SBT.
RMAN crosscheck catalog. RMAN can tell when a backup has expired from the media management software catalog and can keep it’s own catalog in sync.
Improvements to the LIST BACKUP command and the resulting output.
New REPORT NEED BACKUP REDUNDANCY COMMAND tells the user when new backups are required.
New Recovery Catalog Maintenance commands: CREATE CATALOG replaces catrman.sql. UPGRADE CATALOG. DROP CATALOG – Removes a recovery catalog but not the actual backups.
New RMAN commands can shutdown, startup, mount and open a database from within an RMAN session.
New DUPLICATE Command – Can create a new database from the backup of an existing database.
Changes to RMAN backup processing: Duplexed backup sets - Can create up to four concurrent copies of each backup piece. Naming – RMAN can create unique names for each backup piece on it’s own. No more overwrites – RMAN will not overwrite an existing backup piece. Will issue an error instead.
Tablespace Point in Time Recovery (TSPITR) can be performed without a recovery catalog.
Two new v$ views to monitor backup performance - V$BACKUP_SYNC_IO and V$BACKUP_ASYNC_IO.
SQL*Loader Enhancements:
· Loading objects, collections, and LOB’s
· Removal of 64K physical record size limit.
· New FILLER keyword
· New datatypes VARCHARC, VARRAW, LONG VARRAW, and VARRAWC
· User specified record separator in the O/S file processing string
· Can “AND” DEFAULTIF and NULLIF predicates
· Field delimiters allow for a length of one or more chars.
IMPORT and EXPORT Enhancements:
· Specify a query that export uses to unload tables.
· Multiple dump files get around the 2GB limit.
· Export tables with LOB and objects. Can use direct path option.
· IMPORT and EXPORT precalculated optimizer statistics.
· Able to disable the validation of type objects during import.
· Supports bigger dump tapes and files.
New Oracle Software Packager – Java based OO tool that provides the packaging of Oracle software and easy integration of ISV and VAR software into a single installation.
Oracle Universal Installer(OUI) – Java based. Same install interface across all platforms.
Oracle Database Configuration Assistant – Java-based GUI tool that allows for easy configuration and creation of an Oracle dB. Can be invoked from OUI or OEM
Oracle Data Migration Assistant – Can be used to migrate an Oracle7 dB to 8i.
Enhancements to Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM):
· More flexible deployment options via a new 3-tier model.
· Java Based and accessible from all platforms.
· Shared repository allows access from multiple accounts and consoles.