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Oracle Restore Points

Oracle Restore Points let you mark a point in time to which you can later flashback (rollback) your database quickly. Think of them as “checkpoints” — useful before critical changes or patches to avoid costly restores.

Types of Restore Points

TypeDescriptionUse Case
Normal Restore PointMarks a restore point without guaranteeing flashback logs retentionFor short-term flashback within retention period
Guaranteed Restore PointEnsures flashback logs are retained regardless of retention settingsBefore high-risk changes, patches, upgrades

1. Check Existing Restore Points

SET PAGESIZE 50
SET LINESIZE 120
COL NAME FORMAT A30
COL SCN FORMAT 999999999999
COL TIME FORMAT A30
COL GUARANTEE_FLASHBACK_DATABASE FORMAT A10

SELECT NAME, SCN, TIME, GUARANTEE_FLASHBACK_DATABASE FROM V$RESTORE_POINT;
  • Lists all restore points with their SCN, timestamp, and guarantee status.

2. Create Restore Points

Normal Restore Point

CREATE RESTORE POINT restore_point_name;

Guaranteed Restore Point

CREATE RESTORE POINT restore_point_name GUARANTEE FLASHBACK DATABASE;
  • Use guaranteed for critical updates or changes to ensure rollback capability even if flashback logging is disabled or retention expires.

3. Drop Restore Point

DROP RESTORE POINT restore_point_name;
  • Important to drop guaranteed restore points once no longer needed to free flashback log space.

4. Flashback Database to Restore Point

FLASHBACK DATABASE TO RESTORE POINT restore_point_name;
  • Use this to rollback your database quickly to the restore point state after a failure or mistake.

Important Notes & Best Practices

  • Always create a guaranteed restore point before applying patches, schema changes, or upgrades.
  • Monitor flashback log space since guaranteed restore points retain logs and consume storage.
  • Drop restore points when done to avoid unnecessary space usage.
  • Flashback requires FLASHBACK DATABASE to be enabled and proper flashback retention set.
  • You can only flashback if your database is in ARCHIVELOG mode.
  • Restore points do not replace traditional backups but speed up recovery for recent changes.

Real-World Usage Examples

ScenarioRecommended Restore Point TypeNotes
Before Patch/UpgradeGuaranteed Restore PointEnsures you can rollback even if flashback logs would normally be purged
Development & TestingNormal Restore PointLightweight checkpoint for quick rollback during dev cycles
Disaster RecoveryGuaranteed Restore Point (created beforehand)Minimizes downtime on failure

Summary

Oracle Restore Points offer a fast, lightweight way to create recovery checkpoints in your database. Use guaranteed restore points before critical changes to ensure safe rollback. Always monitor your flashback space and clean up restore points when finished. This approach saves time and reduces risk during database maintenance and upgrades.

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