Monitoring Protected Databases with Oracle Autonomous Recovery Service
After configuring automatic backups for your Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) databases, the next critical step is to verify and monitor the protection status. Oracle makes this easy through the Protected Databases dashboard in the Autonomous Recovery Service.
This post explains what each column means and how to interpret the information so you can confidently manage backup health and recovery readiness.
Navigation :PROD_DB_RAC_COMP. You’ll be presented with a table listing all protected databases under this compartment.
Breakdown of the Protected Databases Table
Here's a detailed explanation of what each column in the table represents:
Column 1 Name
Column 2 State
-
Value:
Active/inactive -
This indicator indicates the database's registration and protection state within the Recovery Service. An “Active” status confirms that the protection is up and running.
Column 3 Health
-
Value :
Protected/unprotected. -
Reflects the current health status of backup coverage.
-
A "Protected" status means backups are compliant with the defined policy.
If present, an info icon (ⓘ) may provide further context or health alerts.
Column 4 Source Database :
-
A unique identifier or name of the actual database is being protected. This is helpful in matching databases in other OCI services like Database Systems or Exadata Cloud.
Column 5 Real-Time Protection
-
Value :
Enabled/Disabled -
Indicates whether real-time redo log backup is active.
-
When enabled, the logs are continuously sent to the Recovery Service, like DR log shipping, minimizing data loss during unexpected failures.
Column 6 Data Loss Exposure
-
Value :
0 to XXX....... seconds. -
Shows the amount of potential data loss in case of recovery. Zero seconds confirms full real-time protection is functioning properly. If there is a number, for example, 600, then the last 600 seconds of data will be lost during the recovery process
Column 7 Current Recovery Window
-
Value:
h m s -
This displays how far back in time you can restore your database. It grows until it reaches the maximum retention period defined by your protection policy (e.g., 31 days).
Column 8 Recovery Window Space Used
-
Value :
GB -
Total storage space is used to maintain recovery data across the current window. This includes incremental backups, redo logs, and metadata.
Column 9 Protection Policy
-
Value:
the recovery policy that we had selected during the configuration of the autonomous recovery service eg:AUTONOMOUS_RECOVERY_SERVICES_PROTECTION_POLICY -
It identifies the retention and recovery rules applied to the database. Clicking the link provides detailed policy configurations, such as recovery window length, backup frequency, and redundancy.
Column 10 Database Size
-
Value shown:
GB -
Displays the current total size of the database being protected.
-
Useful for understanding storage consumption and planning for backup window usage.
Why This Matters
Monitoring this dashboard is key to:
-
Verifying backup and recovery readiness
-
Ensuring compliance with data protection policies
-
Planning for storage and recovery performance
The ability to see real-time protection, data loss exposure, and current recovery windows at a glance offers transparency and confidence in your data resilience strategy.
