Automate RMAN Backup using Shell Script

 

In a real environment, off course you will not manually trigger all the Oracle database backups. You need an automated mechanism to trigger RMAN backups. So in this topic we will learn how to set RMAN backup automation using shell scripts.

Schedule Backup Under Crontab

Give execute permissions on the shell script

chmod 775 /u01/backup/BKP_DEV_05172023/full_backup.sh

Now you can go ahead and schedule the backup under the crontab. For example, we are

scheduling backup to trigger every Tuesday and Friday at midnight

 

crontab -e

 

0 0 * * FRI,TUE /u01/backup/ BKP_DEV_05172023/full_backup.sh

Crontab tool

Her is the crontab tool I use (https://crontab.guru/ )that I use to accurately define when crontab will execute next.

Cron Job Schedule Syntax

A basic crontab entry looks something like this:

*    *    *    *    *   /home/user/bin/somecommand.sh
|    |    |    |    |            |
|    |    |    |    |    Command or Script to execute
|    |    |    |    |
|    |    |    | Day of week(0-6 | Sun-Sat)
|    |    |    |
|    |    |  Month(1-12)
|    |    |
|    |  Day of Month(1-31)
|    |
|   Hour(0-23)
|
Min(0-59)

An asterisk (*) matches all values, so if you take a look at the example above, it specifies that /home/user/bin/somecommand.sh should be run at minutes 0-59 and hours 0-23 on days of the month 1-31 for months 1-12 on days of week 0-6 — or in other words "every minute".

Cron entries can also be configured to run at more complex times. If you want to run four times a day between Monday and Friday, you can use the step operator ( / ) and the range operator ( - ).