Wow, that's a lot!
   Working backwards, you (Mark Donaldson) asked:
> 
> Oh - one more thing, have you considered hot-backups?
>
   Not too seriously. I don't think the DBAs have got much experience with 
RMAN, and when it was mentioned in a meeting this morning, I heard "hot backups 
aren't reliable" from that end of the table. We just rolled out a huge new 
Oracle-based system, so no one wants to head out in to the jungle learning 
something new this month. :7)
> 
> [Hot backups are] doable via script with plain Netbackup or 
> using Oracle RMAN and the Oracle Agent.
>
   We don't have the Agent, but I'd be interested in looking at the NBU script 
to do it. How much work is it to set up RMAN stuff for the DBA?
> 
> In either case, the DB has to be in archive-redo mode.
> 
   What, just during the backup, or do you mean the mode of operation where the 
Redo Logs are created & used? I think that's all set, since we're going to be 
keeping a spare set of logs on the hot backup database server.
>
> About scheduling, a backup-to-disk is scheduled just like a 
> backup to tape.
>
   Good, that's what I thought.
>
> The vault product will let you schedule a duplicate disk-to-tape 
> or without vault you can use a cron job and a script.
>
   Can you script something in to the first job's bpend_notify to do this, or 
do you simply run it later, right out of cron?
>
> Sorry about the woozy thing. The script is complex because I've 
> got cross-checks all through it.
>
   If it's easy, it's often not worth doing. :7)
>
> Remember that a backup to disk doesn't hardware compress like a 
> tape device does. 
>
   Urgh. But that doesn't negate te greter speed of the disks, since my client 
wasn't compressing before anyway. The secondary backup (from the disk STU to 
the tape) will compress, though, right?
>
> If you want *Fast* with a capital F, you might consider splitting 
> a mirror of your data disks.
>
   What, a mirror of the Oracle server's disks, backing them up while the 
database keeps on working? Yeah, I've heard of it, but we're not using the 
requisite facny-pants storage. :7)
>
> Backing up to disk is often faster than tape, it's just a 
> faster media. Once an image is on media, duplicating it is easy 
> with the bpduplicate command.
>
   Oh [answering a question that I just delete since it made me look dumb]! 
Since I'm _duplicating_ the disk image to a tape image, then it's in the 
catalog, right, and as searchable as the original? I like this plan.
   It sounds like I'll need a RAID box on my Media Server as big as my client's 
primary storage -- or is this overkill?
   Thanks for all the information!
-wde
--
Will Enestvedt
UNIX System Administrator
Johnson & Wales University -- Providence, RI