Continuous=(n)
Nocontinuous
Specifies whether the .aij backup process operates continuously.
You specify termination conditions by specifying one or both of
the following:
o The Until qualifier
Specifies the time and date to stop the continuous backup
process.
o The value for n
Specifies the number of iterations Oracle RMU should make
through the set of active .aij files before terminating the
backup operation.
When you use the Continuous qualifier, you must use either the
Until or the Interval qualifier or provide a value for n (or
both) to specify when the backup process should stop. You can
also stop the backup process by using the DCL STOP command when
backing up to disk.
If you specify the Continuous qualifier, Oracle Rdb does not
terminate the backup process after truncating the current .aij
file (when an extensible journal is used) or after switching to
a new journal (when fixed-size journals are used). Instead, the
backup process waits for the period of time that you specify in
the argument to the Interval qualifier. After that time interval,
the backup process tests to determine if the threshold has been
reached (for an extensible journal) or if the journal is full
(for fixed-size journals). It then performs backup operations
as needed and then waits again until the next interval break,
unless the number of iterations or the condition specified with
the Until qualifier has been reached.
If you specify the Continuous qualifier, the backup process
occupies the terminal (that is, no system prompt occurs) until
the process terminates. Therefore, you should usually enter the
command through a batch process.
If you specify the default, the Nocontinuous qualifier, the
backup process stops as soon as it completely backs up the .aij
file or files. The default value for the number of iterations (n)
is 1.
If you specify both the Until qualifier and the Continuous=n
qualifier, the backup operation stops after whichever completes
first. If you specify the Until=12:00 qualifier and the
Continuous=5 qualifier, the backup operation terminates at 12:00
even if only four iterations have completed. Likewise, if five
iterations are completed prior to 12:00, the backup operation
terminates after the five iterations are completed.
The Continuous qualifier is not recommended when you are backing
up to tape, particularly when the Format=New_Tape qualifier is
used. If your tape operations complete successfully, you do not
want the backup operation to continue in an infinite loop.
Using the DCL STOP command to terminate a backup operation to
tape might result in an incomplete or corrupt backup file.
However, do not delete this backup file; it is extremely
important that you preserve all .aij backup files, even
those produced by failed or terminated backup processes. If
the resultant .aij backup file is discarded, the next .aij
backup file could contain a "gap" in transactions, so that no
transactions would ever be rolled forward from that point on.