What's New in Oracle Data Guard Broker?

This section describes the new features of Oracle Data Guard broker release 10.1 and provides pointers to additional information.

Oracle Database Release 10.1 New Features in Data Guard Broker

Oracle Data Guard release 10.1 provides several new features that enhance your ability to centrally control, manage, and monitor a broker configuration.

This release provides the following new features:

• Real Application Clusters (RAC) database support

  Data Guard can be configured with Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) databases, which provides for multiple instances of a single, shared database. It is now possible to configure and support RAC databases in a Data Guard broker configuration using the Data Guard GUI or the Data Guard (DGMGRL) command-line interface.

  Data Guard broker is tightly integrated with Oracle Cluster Ready Services (CRS), a framework for high availability (HA) in a RAC database. CRS manages individual instances to provide unattended high availability of a given clustered database. The broker manages individual databases (clustered or otherwise) in a Data Guard configuration to provide disaster recovery in the event that CRS is unable to maintain availability of the primary database. Together, broker and CRS maximize protection and availability of your data. See Section 1.2, "Benefits of Data Guard Broker" and see Oracle Real Application Clusters Administrator's Guide for information about CRS.

• Real-time apply support

  When you enable this feature using the RealTimeApply property, log apply services recover redo data from standby redo log files in real time (at the same time the log files are being filled up) as opposed to when a log switch occurs. Because real-time application of standby redo log files generally keeps the standby database caught up, this feature provides a number of benefits including quicker switchover and failover and instant up-to-date results after you change a physical standby database from applying redo to read-only operations. See Section 3.5.1, "Managing Real-Time Apply".

• Automatic parallel apply support

  The ParallelApply property accepts a new value, AUTO, which is the broker default value. This value allows the standby database to automatically select the number of parallel processes used for log apply services. In Release 9.0.2, you could only specify an explicit number of parallel processes for the apply service. See Section 3.5.3, "Managing Parallel Apply in Physical Standby Databases".

• Enhanced health check status report

  A more comprehensive health check status report is available through the monitorable properties or the GUI's Verify page.

• Logical standby databases now support standby redo log files, which are required when Data Guard is configured to run in either maximum protection mode or maximum availability mode.

• New and improved GUI

  • The Data Guard graphical user interface (GUI) is now HTML-based and is more integrated with Oracle Enterprise Manager than in previous releases. Because of its seamless integration into the new Web-based Enterprise Manager for Oracle Database 10g, the new Data Guard GUI provides an easier way to create, manage, and monitor your Data Guard environment. See Chapter 5, " Data Guard Scenarios - Using Oracle Enterprise Manager".

  • Standby redo log files are now created automatically when you change to a protection mode that requires them. See Section 3.6.1, "Setting the Protection Mode for Your Configuration" and Section 5.4.3, "Changing the Database Protection Mode".

• Oracle Data Guard broker simplifies management of databases.

  Data Guard broker supports database objects (previously known as database resource objects and site objects) and their instances.

• Single command mode for Data Guard

  To improve the scripting power of the command-line mode (DGMGRL), you can now execute a single command. In single command mode, DGMGRL executes one command and exits upon the completion of the command. The exit code is the result of the command. See Section 7.1.1, "DGMGRL Optional Parameters".

• New properties include:

  • AlternateLocation (configurable property)

  • ApplyInstanceTimeout (configurable property)

  • HostName (configurable property)

  • InitialConnectIdentifier (configurable property)

  • LatestLog (monitorable property)

  • LocalListenerAddress (configurable property)

  • NetTimeout (configurable property)

  • PreferredApplyInstance (configurable property)

  • RealTimeApply (configurable property)

  • SidName (configurable property)

  • StandbyArchiveLocation (configurable property)

  • StatusReport (monitorable property)

  • TopWaitEvents (monitorable property)

  See Chapter 8, " Database Properties".

• New CLI commands include:

  • ADD DATABASE

  • DISABLE DATABASE

  • EDIT CONFIGURATION (protection mode)

  • EDIT DATABASE (property)

  • EDIT DATABASE (rename)

  • EDIT DATABASE (state)

  • EDIT INSTANCE (AUTO PFILE)

  • EDIT INSTANCE (property)

  • ENABLE DATABASE

  • REMOVE DATABASE

  • REMOVE INSTANCE

  • SHOW DATABASE

  • SHOW INSTANCE

  See Chapter 7, " Data Guard Command-Line Interface Reference".

• Support for shared server connections on open databases

  The broker now supports shared server connections to open databases from either of the Broker clients (the DGMGRL CLI and Data Guard GUI in Oracle Enterprise Manager).