In this case an incomplete recovery is the best we can do. We will lose all transactions from the missing log and all subsequent logs. We illustrate using the same example as above. The error message indicates that members of log group 3 are missing. We don't have a copy of this file, so we know that an incomplete recovery is required. The first step is to determine how much can be recovered. In order to do this, we query the V$LOG view (when in the mount state) to find the system change number (SCN) that we can recover to (Reminder: the SCN is a monotonically increasing number that is incremented whenever a commit is issued)

--The database should be in the mount state for v$log access

SQL> select first_change# from v$log whnhi….ere group#=3 ;

FIRST_CHANGE#
-------------
370255

SQL>

The FIRST_CHANGE# is the first SCN stamped in the missing log. This implies that the last SCN stamped in the previous log is 370254 (FIRST_CHANGE#-1). This is the highest SCN that we can recover to. In order to do the recovery we must first restore ALL datafiles to this SCN, followed by recovery (also up to this SCN). This is an incomplete recovery, so we must open the database resetlogs after we're done. Here's a transcript of the recovery session (typed commands in bold, comments in italics, all other lines are

RMAN feedback):

C:\>rman target /

--Restore ENTIRE database to determined SCN

RMAN> restore database until scn 370254;

RMAN>

The following points should be noted:

1. The entire database must be restored to the SCN that has been determined by querying v$log.

2. All changes beyond that SCN are lost. This method of recovery should be used only if you are sure that you cannot do better. Be sure to multiplex your redo logs, and (space permitting) your archived logs!

1. The database must be opened with RESETLOGS, as a required log has not been applied. This resets the log sequence to zero, thereby rendering all prior backups worthless. Therefore, the first step after opening a database RESETLOGS is to take a fresh backup. Note that the RESETLOGS option must be used for any incomplete recovery