How To Catalog Backups / Archivelogs / Datafile Copies / Controlfile Copies in Oracle Database

The RMAN CATALOG command is used to accomplish the following:

Add backup pieces and image copies on disk to the RMAN repository.
Record a datafile copy as a level 0 incremental backup in the RMAN repository, which enables you to use it as part of an incremental backup strategy.
Record the existence of the last user-managed datafile copies made after the final shutdown.

Restrictions and Usage Notes

You must be connected to the target database, which must be mounted or open.
If RMAN is connected to a recovery catalog, then the catalog database must be open.
For a user-managed copy to be cataloged, it must be a datafile copy, control file copy, archived log, or backup piece.
Accessible on disk.
You cannot use CATALOG to catalog a file that belongs to a different database.

Note: RMAN treats all user-managed backups as image copies. Note that during cataloging, RMAN does not check whether the file was correctly copied by the operating system utility; it just checks the header.

Examples

1. Cataloging an Archived Redo Log:

This example assumes that you made operating system copies of archived logs or transferred them from another location, and then added them to the RMAN repository:

RMAN> CATALOG ARCHIVELOG '?/oradata/archive1_30.dbf', '?/oradata/archive1_31.dbf', '?/oradata/archive1_32.dbf';

2. Cataloging a File Copy as an Incremental Backup:

The following example catalogs datafile copy users01.bak as an incremental level 0 backup:

RMAN> CATALOG DATAFILECOPY '?/oradata/users01.bak' LEVEL 0;

Note that you can create datafile copies either using the RMAN BACKUP AS COPY command, or by using operating system utilities in conjunction with ALTER TABLESPACE BEGIN/END BACKUP.

3. Catlog a user managed controlfile copy in the RMAN repository

The folllowing example catalogs a user managed controlfile copy in the RMAN repository:

sql> alter database backup controlfile to 'disk1/control01.ctl';

The command to catalog a controlfile copy is below:

RMAN> catalog controlfilecopy '/disk1/control01.ctl';

4. Cataloging Multiple Copies in a Directory:

The following example catalogs a directory full of archived logs that were copied into the /tmp/arch_logs directory with an operating system utility:

RMAN> CATALOG START WITH '/tmp/arch_logs';

5. Cataloging Files in the Flash Recovery Area:

The following example catalogs all files in the currently enabled flash recovery area without prompting the user for each one:

RMAN> CATALOG RECOVERY AREA NOPROMPT;

6. Cataloging Backup Pieces:

The following example catalogs a RMAN backup piece that was copied with an operating system utility:

RMAN> CATALOG BACKUPPIECE '?/oradata/01dmsbj4_1_1.bcp';

The below command will catalog the backup pieces held in the location set for db_recovery_file_dest parameter:

RMAN> catalog db_recovery_file_dest;