Oracle 10g Backup & Restore

Question

Here is the scenario:

1. Oracle 10g database running Windows Vista Business. This is a production/live db.
2. Nightly backups (Whole database, online backup, ARCHIVELOG mode) moved to different machine on the network.
3. Hard disk dies.
4. Setup OS and Oracle 10g on the new hard drive. Oracle does not have any db instances yet.

Is there an easy (or at least relatively easy) way to restore the database from the backup? I'm not an Oracle DBA and my Oracle knowledge is very limited. I have seen some "advanced RMAN commands", but I have no clue what the doc is about. Is there a 3rd party utility that simplifies the restore process?

If the RMAN scripts are the only way to go, then do I have to create an empty database in Oracle before proceeding?

thanks

Answer 1

The ability to recover a database is the most fundamental responsibility of a DBA -- All else amounts to nothing if data is lost.

If you have limited knowledge of the recovery process and you are in charge of recovering a production instance, my first suggestion would be to contact support : you don't want to make a mistake. Trust me, you don't want to practice on a production environment.

Once the database is restored, when you have plenty of time, I'd suggest you start by having a thorough look at the documentation. You should be fine with the Backup and Recovery Basics Guide.

Nowadays, you can perform recovery through the Entreprise Manager web interface (this is a nice wrapper of RMAN).