Here's the scenario:

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Production environment: (State of Michigan)

Sun E6500 (10 processors, 20G memory)
Veritas HA with three way mirroring disk suits
SUN OS 5.9
Oracle 9.2.0.7 (2TB of data)

The backups are done nightly (using scripts) by breaking the third mirror and
using Veritas netbackup.

Performance testing environment: (State of California)
    (big pipe connecting the two states)

- This environment currently gets refreshed by bringing physical tapes from
Michigan and refreshing the "performance testing" instance.
- Takes at least 7-10 days.

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Proposed Solution:

- Create a standby database in California using Data Guard (bandwidth is
sufficient)
- Use RMAN with Recovery Catalog to backup the standby database
- Use RMAN Duplicate to create the "Performance Testing" database.

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- This should dramatically reduce the time required to refresh
the "Performance Testing" database.
- Even though the Veritas HA is used on the production site, The standby in
California should provide another level of protection from total disaster
in Michigan.
- Data Guard is free

What do you all think about the approach. Did I miss any obvious pitfalls?
Comments/suggestions are appreciated.

TIA,

Nirmalya
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