To recover the existing OCI database, open its DB system and choose Actions → Restore, then select the latest recovery point, a timestamp, or an SCN. To create a separate DB system from an automatic backup, select an eligible backup and choose Create database, or use Create database from backup for a timestamp-based copy or the latest archived redo backup. Oracle’s ordinary Clone a DB System operation is a different workflow: it copies the source as it exists when cloning runs, rather than recovering it from a selected backup.
Choose the workflow that matches what you need
| What you want | OCI route | Key decision |
|---|---|---|
| Recover the existing database | Database details → Actions → Restore | Choose latest, timestamp, or SCN; check password-profile and encryption-key effects. |
| Create a separate system from an automatic backup | Backup entry → Create database | Choose an eligible backup and meet target shape, database-version, and storage requirements. |
| Create a separate system at a timestamp | Database details → Create database from backup | The timestamp must satisfy recovery-window, incarnation, and structural-change limits. |
| Copy the source as it exists now | Clone a DB System | This is ordinary cloning, not backup recovery; account for its own RAC, Data Guard, and customization constraints. |
Restore the existing database from a backup
In-place restore changes the existing database rather than provisioning an independent copy. OCI supports restore from automatic backups stored in Autonomous Recovery Service or Object Storage, provided the DB system can access the selected backup service.
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Console steps
- Open DB Systems, select the DB system, and open its Databases tab.
- Select the database, then choose Actions → Restore.
- Select a recovery target:
- Restore to the latest restores to the last known good state, which Oracle describes as the option with the least possible data loss.
- Restore to a timestamp uses the date and time you enter.
- Restore to SCN uses a valid Oracle System Change Number. You can find an SCN by querying the database host or checking online or archived logs.
- Select Restore and confirm the operation.
Check the result and restore side effects
- The default password profile is reset when a DB system is restored from backup.
- If customer-managed keys were enabled after the selected timestamp or SCN, the recovered database is restored without customer-managed keys enabled. You can change encryption settings after restore.
- The console’s backup list does not include unmanaged backups made directly with RMAN or DBCLI.
- If restore fails, Oracle recommends checking the host RMAN logs and correcting reported errors before trying another restore option.
Create a separate DB system from an automatic backup
Use backup-based creation when the source must remain a separate resource—for example, to make a copy for testing, investigation, or another recovery need. Oracle documents automatic-backup sources as a level 0 weekly backup or a level 1 incremental backup made after the most recent level 0 backup. Other supported source choices include on-demand full backups, standalone backups, the last archived redo log backup, and eligible point-in-time copies.
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- For a daily automatic backup or on-demand full backup, open the source DB system and database, find the backup in Backups, and choose Create database from that entry’s Actions menu.
- For the latest archived redo log backup or a timestamp-based copy, open the database details and choose Create database from backup.
- For a standalone or long-term-retention backup, open Resources → Standalone backups and select the backup there.
Confirm the target DB system settings
- The target must use the same shape type as the source database, such as single-node to single-node.
- The target Oracle Database version must be equal to or later than the backed-up database’s version.
- Storage defaults to the backup data size rounded up to the nearest available storage size. You can choose more storage.
- Oracle may apply cloud-recommended defaults, including memory settings based on the selected shape, so some settings can differ slightly from the source. Adjustments can be made after creation.
- You may use the source availability domain or, across regions, a different one.
- A backup in a security-zone compartment cannot be used to create a target in a compartment outside a security zone.
Understand timestamp-based copies
For a point-in-time copy, the timestamp sets the latest data included in the new database. Oracle’s rule is that “The timestamp must be within the recovery window of the database.” It must also be available within the incarnation represented by the automatic backups; a timestamp between overlapping incarnations is not valid.
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- Creation can fail if a structural database change—such as creating or dropping a tablespace—occurred after the requested timestamp.
- OCI does not allow another point-in-time copy to start while one is already in progress.
- Check that the selected recovery point is covered by the backups available for that database before starting creation.
Do not confuse backup recovery with ordinary cloning
Clone a DB System copies the source system in its state when the cloning operation runs. It is not a way to choose an older automatic backup or timestamp. Oracle’s ordinary clone flow can use new SSH keys and a new admin password, and the clone may use a different VCN and subnet.
- For a system with a Data Guard association, cloning does not copy the association or its connections; Oracle says to initiate cloning from the primary.
- A RAC clone creates a new Grid Infrastructure configuration and omits some manually added resources and customizations. Oracle says to expect at least an hour for an ordinary RAC DB system clone; that estimate does not apply to backup restore or backup-based creation.
- Oracle documents ordinary cloning as unsupported for DB systems using Oracle Database 21c with ASM. For ASM systems, Grid Infrastructure software must be version 19.9 or later.
- Review Oracle’s clone-specific guidance on customer-managed encryption keys and inherited TDE wallet passwords before applying ordinary clone assumptions to a backup-based create operation.
Check backup destination and retention before relying on a recovery point
Automatic backups can use Autonomous Recovery Service or Object Storage, but the choices shown depend on database version, shape, tenancy limits, regional capacity, and current OCI eligibility. Oracle’s current documentation says Recovery Service requires Oracle Database 19.18 or later; Ampere A1 shape-based DB systems can use only Object Storage. Because destination availability is location- and tenancy-dependent and Oracle documents dated eligibility changes, verify the options in the current console for your DB system.
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Oracle’s current Base Database Service documentation lists these retention options. They are configuration choices, not guarantees that a particular backup exists.
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| Backup destination | Documented retention choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous Recovery Service | Bronze: 14 days; Silver: 35 days; Gold: 65 days; Platinum: 95 days; or a custom policy | Silver: 35 days |
| Object Storage | 7, 15, 30, 45, or 60 days | 30 days |
Real-time data protection for Recovery Service continuously transfers redo changes and is an extra-cost option. Changing the backup destination triggers an immediate full backup by default, and that backup cannot be rescheduled. Also distinguish managed automatic backups from RMAN or DBCLI backups: the latter may not appear in the console’s backup list.
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Prepare access and network connectivity
The DB system must be able to reach the service holding the selected backup, and an administrator must grant the IAM access needed for the operation. Oracle recommends a service gateway for Object Storage connectivity. Recovery Service requires a dedicated network path in each database VCN. There is no single IAM policy statement that covers every tenancy and operation, so confirm the applicable policy with your OCI administrator.
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