The following methods are available to create the standby database:
- Direct transfer to the standby server (on the fly creation) over the network.
- Using a temporary location to create a complete backup of the primary database and then transferring the complete backup from the temporary location on the primary server to the standby server over the network.
- Transportable Media which uses a temporary location to create a complete backup of the primary database and manually transferring the complete backup to the standby server using TRANSPORATBLE MEDIA. Transportable media is an external device such as a USB drive that is first plugged into the primary server and then manually transferred to the standby site and plugged into the standby server to complete the process.
Option 1 should be chosen for smaller databases.
Option 2 should be chosen for larger databases.
Option 3 should be chosen for very large databases or slow networks.
Option 2 and 3 will require adequate space on the primary server to make a (compressed) copy of the database files.
Option 1 (Direct Transfer) copies datafiles directly to standby server, which is then restored by RMAN.
This option is available only if following two conditions are met,
- Both primary and standby must be non-ASM
- All primary datafiles must not be OMF (Oracle Managed FIles)