Windows Database Recoverability Alert
Windows DBAs will wish to download and test Patchset 8 patch 6038279, which is now available and addresses a critical recoverability flaw on Windows 32 bit platforms. Professional DBAs will know that it is important to keep software updated regularly in order to address security and stability concerns as well as post release bug fixes.Consequently a commonly accepted 'best practice' for Oracle databases might consist of the following;
- apply os service packs when available.
- apply database patchsets when available.
- apply application patches when available.
- apply os security patches when available.
- apply database security patches when available.
- apply application security patches when available.
If you follow this or a similar policy and are
- running windows 32bit
- and 9.2.0.8
- and have kept up to date with CPU patching.
you will wish to download and test Patchset 8 patch 6038279 to resolve the issues addressed in Note 434527.1. Witout this patch it is likely that your database is unrecoverable. Or as the description has it
Rman fails to RESTORE with :
RMAN-20216: backup piece is missing
RMAN-06159: error while looking up backup set
A crosscheck of a backupset fails with:
ORA-1405: fetched column value is NULL
RMAN-6159: error while looking up backup set
Likelihood of Occurrence
This could potentially happen when the following is in place:
- Oracle RDBMS 9.2.0.8 on the Windows platform 32-bit
- CPU Patch from October 2006 or JAN 2007 is installed
The problem is also in the April 2007 CPU
Just confirmed with Oracle support that the problem applies to the April 2007 CPU as well. You would expect that because the patches are cumulative, although it doesn't say so explicitly in the Note.
Thanks for the update Matt
ironically of course we haven't applied the relevant patchsets to our windows databases :)
Niall Litchfield
Site Owner
orawin.info
Rman worked for me on my test database
Just fyi,
since you were sensible enough not to apply the patch
I just
tested a restore and recovery on a test database which has the April CPU and it
worked OK. I may have missed something, I don't know.
The bug
report has a comment:
Rediscovery
Information:
After
applying 9.2.0.8.0 patch and RMAN is not able to restore prior backup
sets then it's likely due to this bug
I’m not
quite sure whether this means that at some stage it was thought that the bug
only applied if you’re trying to restore a backup set from before the patch. The
alert certainly doesn’t say that though....
I’m
inclined to apply the new patch anyway, but I would be!
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