Recommended Backup Strategy Understanding Backup Operations

Backing Up and Recovering Oracle Fusion Middleware 8-3 Static files and directories are those that do not change frequently. These include: ■ The Middleware home MW_HOME. A Middleware home consists of a WebLogic Server home the Oracle WebLogic Server product directories, an Oracle Common home, and optionally an Oracle home. It can also contain the user_ projects directories, which contains Oracle WebLogic Server domains, and Oracle instance homes, which are not static files. ■ OraInventory ■ OraInst.loc and oratab files, which are located in the following directory: etc ■ The beahomelist file, which is located at: UNIX user_homebeabeahomelist Windows C:\bea\beahomelist ■ On Windows, the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Oracle In addition, for system components, such as Oracle Web Cache, you must back up the following Windows Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services Run-time artifacts are those files that change frequently. Back up these files when you perform a full backup and on a regular basis. Run-time artifacts include: ■ Domain directories of the Administration Server and the Managed Servers by default, a domain directory resides in MW_HOME, but it can be configured by the user to point to a different location In most cases, you do not need to back up Managed Server directories separately because the Administration Server contains information about all of the Managed Servers in its domain. ■ All Oracle instance homes, which reside, by default, in the MW_HOME but can be configured to be in a different location ■ Application artifacts, such as .ear or .war files that reside outside of the domain You do not need to backup application artifacts in a Managed Server domain because they can be retrieved from the Administration Server during Managed Server startup. ■ Database artifacts such as the MDS repository ■ Any database-based metadata repositories used by Oracle Fusion Middleware. You use Oracle Recovery Manager RMAN to back up an Oracle database ■ Persistent stores, such as JMS Providers and transaction logs, which reside, by default in the user_projects directory, but can be configured in a different location

8.1.1.2 Recommended Backup Strategy

This section outlines the recommended strategy for performing backups. Using this strategy ensures that you will be able to perform the recovery procedures in this book. ■ Perform a full offline backup. This involves backing up the entities described in Section 8.1.1.1 . Perform an offline full backup at the following times: – Immediately after you install Oracle Fusion Middleware 8-4 Oracle Fusion Middleware 2 Day Administration Guide – Immediately after an operating system software upgrade – Immediately after upgrading or patching Oracle Fusion Middleware ■ Perform an online backup of run-time artifacts. This involves backing up the run-time artifacts described in Section 8.1.1.1 . Backing up the run-time artifacts enables you to restore your environment to a consistent state as of the time of your most recent configuration and metadata backup. To avoid an inconsistent backup, do not make any configuration changes until backup completes. Perform an online backup of run-time artifacts at the following times: – On a regular basis. Oracle recommends that you back up run-time artifacts nightly. – Prior to making configuration changes to a component or cluster. – After making configuration changes to a component or cluster. – Prior to deploying a custom Java EE application to a Managed Server or cluster. – After a major change to the deployment architecture, such as creating servers or clusters. ■ Perform an offline backup of static files and directories. This involves backing up the static files and directories described in Section 8.1.1.1 . Perform an offline backup of static files and directories at the following times: – After patching your Oracle Fusion Middleware environment. This backup serves as the basis for subsequent online backups. – After upgrading your Oracle Fusion Middleware environment. This backup serves as the basis for subsequent online backups. – If any of the following files are modified: MW_HOME wlserver_ncommonbinnodemanager.properties MW_HOME wlserver_ncommonbinwlsifconfig.sh MW_HOME wlserver_ncommonbinsetPatchEnv.sh MW_HOME wlserver_ncommonbincommEnvg.sh To avoid an inconsistent backup, do not make any configuration changes until the backup is completed. To ensure that no changes are made in the Oracle WebLogic Server domain, lock the Oracle WebLogic Server configuration, as described in Section 2.3.2 .

8.1.2 Understanding Recovery Operations