Backup recovery area (FRA) without a tape device

Backup to disk

RMAN> run {
allocate channel d1 type disk format='/tmp/%U';
backup tablespace sysaux;
}

Backup to a fake tape

The fake tape library will call the MML APIs, essentially similar to an MML backup, but will place the file on disk (RMAN disksbt library emulates a SBT library). It cannot be used for production backups but can be used for verification purposes such as these:

RMAN> run {
allocate channel t1 type 'SBT' PARMS 'SBT_LIBRARY=oracle.disksbt,ENV=(BACKUP_DIR=/tmp)';
backup tablespace sysaux;
}

The fake tape backup comes in handy when one wants to backup the recovery area; the ‘backup recovery area’ command only works with SBT channels. FRA backup to disk does not work.