ORACLE: RMAN with Shared Server

Configuring RMAN for Use with a Shared Server

RMAN cannot connect to a target database through a shared server dispatcher. RMAN requires a dedicated server process. If your target database is configured for shared server, then you must modify your Oracle Net configuration to provide dedicated server processes for RMAN connections.

To ensure that RMAN does not connect to a dispatcher when a target database is configured for a shared server, the net service name used by RMAN must include (SERVER=DEDICATED) in the CONNECT_DATA attribute of the connect string.

Oracle Net configuration varies greatly from system to system. The following procedure illustrates only one method. This scenario assumes that the following service name in the tnsnames.ora connects to a target database using the shared server architecture, where inst1 is a value of the SERVICE_NAMES initialization parameter:

inst1_shs =
  (DESCRIPTION=
    (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=inst1_host)(port=1521))
    (CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=inst1)(SERVER=shared))
  )

To use RMAN with a shared server:

Create a net service name in the tnsnames.ora file that connects to the nonshared SID. For example, enter:

inst1_ded =
  (DESCRIPTION=
    (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=inst1_host)(port=1521))
    (CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=inst1)(SERVER=dedicated))
  )

Start SQL*Plus and then connect using both the shared server and dedicated server service names to confirm the mode of each session.

For example, connect with SYSDBA privileges to inst1_ded and then execute the following SELECT statement (sample output included):

SQL> SELECT SERVER 
  2  FROM   V$SESSION 
  3  WHERE  SID = (SELECT DISTINCT SID FROM V$MYSTAT);

SERVER   
---------
DEDICATED
1 row selected.

To connect to a shared server session, you could connect with SYSDBA privileges to inst1_shs and then execute the following SELECT statement (sample output included):

SQL> SELECT SERVER 
  2  FROM   V$SESSION 
  3  WHERE  SID = (SELECT DISTINCT SID FROM V$MYSTAT);

SERVER   
---------
SHARED 
1 row selected.

Start RMAN and connect to the target database using the dedicated service name. Optionally, connect to a recovery catalog. For example, enter:

% rman
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET SYS@inst1_ded 

target database Password: password
connected to target database: INST1 (DBID=39525561)

RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG rman@catdb

Reference:http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B28359_01/backup.111/b28270/rcmconfa.htm