Question

first some data: we are using Oracle 11g databases. A primary database running on a dedicated server and a physical standby database on a separate dedicated server. We use the DataGuard feature to automatically replicate the primary database to the physical standby database in real time. The primary database is also backeed up through RMAN.

currently I am unable to cope a problem with our physical standby database. Somehow the transfer of the archive logs from the primary database to the physical standyby database has stopped, what it makes worse some of the archive logs already got deleted from some of our employees, now I can’t issue a recovery by performing the following statement:

RECOVER MANAGED STANDBY DATABASE THROUGH ALL SWITCHOVER DISCONNECT USING CURRENT LOGFILE;

since the required archive logs are gone.

So my thought was to re-duplicate the physical standby database. I shutdown the physical standby database and restarted it with STARTUP NOMOUNT. Then logged onto the server hosting the primary database and started a RMAN-session with:

RMAN target / auxiliary sys@PRIMARY_DB_DG
   RMAN> sql 'ALTER SYSTEM ARCHIVE LOG CURRENT';
   RMAN> DUPLICATE TARGET DATABASE FOR STANDBY FROM ACTIVE DATABASE DORECOVER
         NOFILENAMECHECK;

but shortly after altering the the physical standby database to MOUNT status the process crashes due to either

1. RMAN-04006: error from auxiliary database: ORA-12537: TNS:connection closed,

2. RMAN-03009: failure of switch command on clone_default channel at 11/15/2011 11:13:58
   ORA-03113: end-of-file on communication channel or

3. RMAN-06136: ORACLE error from auxiliary database: ORA-03113: end-of-file on communication channel

I have googled around for solutions, but only found guides to setup a physical standby database from scratch. So anybody knows howe to fix the physical database without setting it up completely new?

Greetings,
CB

Answer 1

I’d look in the alert.log at the standby site to see what the errors were around the time of the failure of the rman session.

In addition you won’t necessarily have to do a full reinstantiation – you can apply incremental backups to a standby database to bring it up to date. See for example http://jarneil.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/applying-an-incremental-backup-to-a-physical-standby/

Niall