Oracle – Why Not Always Delete Old Archive Log Files with RMAN?

If logging with RMAN, you'd have to set the filename yourself - there's no wildcard. But there is an APPEND option.

spool log to 'my_log_file' append

Similarly, invoking RMAN with the APPEND option causes it to append to any log file specified.

Our backup scripts do the log maintenance at the OS level:

export LOGPREFIX=$ORACLE_ADMIN/$ORACLE_SID/rman/log/my_backup_script
export MYLOG=${LOGPREFIX}.$$   # add the pid to the log file name
rman log=${MYLOG} append <<EOF
... various RMAN commands
EOF

#Perform error checking and notification
fgrep -i RMAN- ${MYLOG}
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then # we had a failure - email me
   mail -s "$0 : failure for `date +%m/%d/%y`" me@myself_and_i.com < ${MYLOG}
fi
# add the incremental log to the permanent log
cat ${MYLOG} >> ${LOGPREFIX}.log
# clean up the incremental log
/bin/rm -f ${MYLOG}

The 11.2 manual says you should also check plain LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST. Although it comes from Standard Edition, it is still valid in case none of numbered Enterprise Edition destinations LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_n are defined. I haven't tested that personally.

In case all are unset, the another 11.2 manual says

If you configure a Fast Recovery Area (by setting the DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST and DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST_SIZE parameters) and do not specify any local archive destinations, the database automatically selects the Fast Recovery Area as a local archive destination and sets LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_1 to USE_DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST.

I vaguely remember I've seen somewhere that 11.1 database in such situation defaults to USE_DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST but via LOG_ARCHIVE_DEST_10.

In all, your configuration and syntax is correct.

alter system set log_archive_min_succeed_dest = 1;

Normally all destinations are optional. But your setting is ok; it could somewhat decrease potential data loss (loss of redo log not yet archived).

Further two items to take care of:

• a copy of redo logs on a second disk
• a copy of control file on a second disk