BR*TOOLS - User interface for Oracle in an SAP environment

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Because IBM® Storage Protect Snapshot fully integrates with SAP® BR*TOOLS, IBM Storage Protect Snapshot does not provide a separate user interface. Information is provided about the query and deletion of snapshot backups, operations that are not directly supported by BR*TOOLS.

For detailed information about how to use BR*TOOLS to create snapshot backups, see SAP Database Guide for Oracle. IBM Storage Protect Snapshot provides a console user interface that can be used instead of BR*TOOLS for query and restore operations. See acsutil Snapshot Object Manager for Oracle for detailed information.

Important: If IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning is not installed, IBM Storage Protect Snapshot does not use the default path /usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/exe/run to install the backint executable file. By not using the default path, an existing backint file cannot be overwritten. Therefore, you must start the backint executable file from the IBM Storage Protect Snapshot installation directory (<INSTANCE_DIR>).

If IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning is installed, you can run the backint executable file from the default installation path. IBM Storage Protect Snapshot inquire and delete commands can use the backint interface.

The syntax of the backint command is as follows:
backint [-p profile] -f <function> -t <backup_type> [-F]

where <function> is one of the following options:

       inquire
       inquire_detail 
       delete

and <backup_type> is one of the following options:

       volume
       file
Table 1. Parameters for IBM Storage Protect Snapshot backint command
Option Meaning
-p IBM Storage Protect Snapshot Backint profile (see BACKINT configuration file)
-f inquire or inquire_detail Inquire function with or without detailed information about the backups.
-f delete Delete function.
-t volume This option can be used to manage snapshot backups that are created with IBM Storage Protect Snapshot.
-t file Use this option to manage files that are backed up directly to the IBM Storage Protect Snapshot repository.
Note: When IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning is installed, both options are also supported by IBM Storage Protect for Enterprise Resource Planning. However, in this case option -t file is used to manage backups that are sent to the IBM Storage Protect server instead.
-F Force option to be used with inquire, inquire_detail, or delete functions. When used with inquire or inquire_detail, all available backups and all backups marked for deletion are displayed. When used with the delete function, the option withdraws the source target FlashCopy® relations on DS8000® and SAN Volume Controller.

-f inquire and -f inquire_detail functions

The inquire function that is run by SAP BR*Tools and BRRESTORE, is used to query the IBM Storage Protect server for backup IDs or files that belong to a particular backup ID. For troubleshooting, run this function from the command line. You must specify the backup_type as -t volume when you use the inquire function to obtain details about IBM Storage Protect Snapshot backups. The following code is provided as an example: 
backint -p /oracle/<SID>/dbs/init<SID>.utl -f inquire -t volume
IBM Storage Protect Snapshot prompts you to enter the inquiry in one of the following formats:
#NULL
Use to display all saved backup IDs. The following sample is provided:
#BACKUP JE0___A0DNE9Z74C
In this example, JE0___A0DNE9Z74C is the backup ID. #BACKUP is not part of the backup ID. The first 6 characters are the user-defined prefix. The following 10 characters represent the unique ID for the backup.
BackupID
Use to display all of the files that relate to this backup ID. The following sample result is provided:
#BACKUP JE0___A0DNE9Z74C /oracle/C21/dbs/initC21.utl.
#NULLfilename
Use to display all of the backup IDs corresponding to this file. The filename variable must include both the path to and name of the file.
BackupID filename
Use to verify if a specific file is saved with a particular backup ID. The filename variable must include both the path to and name of the file.

-f delete

IBM Storage Protect Snapshot version control mechanism deletes backups. However, you can manually delete a IBM Storage Protect Snapshot backup by using the delete function and specifying the backup to delete. You must specify the backup_type as -t volume when you use the delete function to delete IBM Storage Protect Snapshot backups. The delete function can delete full backups only.

This function can be started from the command line as follows:
backint -p /oracle/<SID>/dbs/init<SID>.utl -f delete -t volume
You are prompted to enter the backup ID.