In 2024, the world faced an unprecedented number of cyberattacks. According to a study by Keeper Security, 92% of IT leaders reported an increase in the frequency of database hacking attempts compared to 2023. Last year, hackers actively used artificial intelligence, posing a new challenge to database administrators, who must now work even harder to protect data from sudden leaks. Why is backup critically important for business, what approaches does Oracle Database offer, and how can an effective data recovery process be organized? We explored all these questions with international expert Olga Badiukova.
Olga Badiukova
Olga Badiukova is an Oracle database administrator with over 22 years of experience. Throughout her extensive career, she has restored damaged databases, including emergency data recovery following one of the largest cyberattacks in history, the Petya attack, while working at Unity-Bars. She has implemented procedures for database optimization, Oracle version upgrades, and successfully migrated large systems to PostgreSQL. Olga has worked with large volumes of data and participated in streamlining workflows within government agencies in Ukraine. For example, during her time at Intellect-Service LLC, she performed an emergency recovery of the database after a failed ISpro product update at the State Tax Service, minimizing downtime and enhancing system performance. She also reconfigured the system for the Ministry of Statistics, resolving slowdowns and ensuring uninterrupted operations while improving system efficiency.
Olga served as a judge in the prestigious Armenian Digital Awards competition. She is actively involved in mentoring young IT professionals and consulting companies on database-related matters.
Backup: Why is it necessary?
The foundation of any company lies in information about clients, financial reports, operational processes, or strategic documents. The loss of such data can cause significant damage or completely paralyze the organization’s operations, leading to enormous losses. Olga Badiukova highlights several reasons why database administrators must conduct regular backups:
1) Human Factor
Even the most experienced employees can make mistakes: accidentally deleting a table, incorrect data modification, or executing the wrong SQL query.
2) Cyber Threats
Modern cyberattacks, such as ransomware viruses, are becoming increasingly common. If attackers encrypt or damage data, a backup may be the only way to restore it.
3) Technical Failures
Hardware failures are inevitable: hard drives malfunction, servers break down, and even uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) can fail.
4) Force Majeure
Natural disasters, fires, flooding, or power outages can destroy equipment and all the data stored on it.
Oracle Tools for Backup
Olga Badiukova, who has worked with Oracle Database for over 20 years, highlights the following tools for creating and managing backups. She believes all of these tools can be adapted to the specific needs of a business:
1) Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN)
This built-in tool offers powerful automation capabilities for backup and recovery. RMAN supports both full and incremental backups, space management, and integration with Oracle cloud solutions.
2) Oracle Data Guard
This technology ensures real-time data replication between the primary server and one or more standby servers. In case of failure of the primary server, the system automatically switches to the standby server, minimizing downtime.
3) Oracle Flashback
A unique feature that allows rolling back changes at the transaction, table, or database level. This is especially useful for recovery after errors or incorrect operations.
4) Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Backup
Oracle provides cloud-based backup solutions that allow data to be stored in secure remote locations. This reduces risks associated with local hardware failures or natural disasters.
A Few More Useful Tips for Oracle Database Administrators
Create Backups Regularly
There’s a saying among database administrators: “Admins fall into three categories—those who haven’t backed up yet, those who do, and those who check that their backups aren’t corrupted.”
Before creating a database, it is necessary to develop a Disaster Recovery Plan, which guarantees the restoration of your applications and data after an accident, in which to determine:
- RTO (Recovery Time Objective) — The target time within which an application’s data must be restored after a disaster. Typically, the more critical the application, the lower the RTO should be.
- RPO (Recovery Point Objective) — The target point in time to which data can be lost without severely impacting business operations. It defines the maximum amount of data that can be lost between the last backup and the time of the disaster.
The Disaster Recovery Plan will also specify when backups should be taken and provide detailed instructions for database recovery. This ensures that the organization is prepared to quickly recover its systems with minimal downtime and data loss.
Regularly Test Backups for Integrity
There’s nothing worse than discovering a corrupted backup when it’s time to restore data. Ensure that you routinely test your backups to verify they can be successfully restored and are free from errors.
Store Data Copies on Different Media
Store backup copies on various types of media: locally, in the cloud, and on external devices. This approach protects your data in case of physical damage to your primary hardware or servers.
Use RMAN capabilities to automate backups, configure schedules, and manage storage.
To ensure the correctness of Oracle database backups using RMAN, when configuring, it is necessary to consider not only the creation of data backups but also the mandatory inclusion of the log archiving process (BACKUP DATABASE PLUS ARCHIVELOG;). In addition, it is critical to perform a separate backup of the current control file (BACKUP CURRENT CONTROLFILE;) and the initialization parameter file (BACKUP SPFILE;).
This comprehensive approach guarantees the possibility of restoring the database in case of hardware failures, logical errors, or other incidents, ensuring the integrity and availability of information.
Build a High-Availability DB System
Establish a high-availability database system to better protect your data. Implement data replication and use tools like Oracle Data Guard or other solutions to create standby servers. This will help maintain data availability even in the event of server failure, ensuring minimal downtime.
Data Recovery: The Key to Business Continuity
Now let’s look at situations when data is lost and needs to be recovered from a backup. There are several types of data recovery:
1) Database-Level Recovery
In the event of data loss, the entire database can be restored using a backup and archived logs. This method provides a complete restoration and is ideal for critical systems where the integrity of all data is essential.
2) Point-in-Time Recovery for Test Systems
For non-production environments, point-in-time recovery can be used. Oracle Flashback allows you to restore individual tables or pieces of data, which is particularly useful when dealing with local errors, such as incorrect updates or deletions.
3) Minimizing Downtime
With proper configuration, Oracle Data Guard allows for an almost immediate switch to a standby server, significantly minimizing downtime and preventing data loss. This approach ensures that business continuity is maintained while the primary system is restored or repaired.
Risks and Potential Issues
While Oracle offers powerful tools for backup and data recovery, problems can still arise. Often, the root cause lies in human factors, where incorrect backup configurations lead to system failures. Additionally, there’s the risk of backup corruption when backups aren’t adequately tested. Without regular verification, backups might appear fine but fail when it’s time to restore.
Another threat is cost-cutting on infrastructure. Relying solely on local data copies increases the risk of complete data loss. If an incident such as hardware failure, fire, or natural disaster affects the physical location, the data could be irreparably lost.
Data Backup and Recovery: A Strategic Task
Data backup and recovery is a strategic task that requires attention, resources, and a professional approach. By leveraging Oracle’s capabilities, companies can ensure reliable data protection and minimize risks. It’s important to remember that a backup system is not a one-time investment but an ongoing process that demands regular updates, testing, and optimization.
Information is the foundation of any business, and its loss can be catastrophic. By establishing an efficient backup and recovery system, you ensure your business’s resilience to unexpected events.
