Steps to Resolve Errors RMAN-03009, ORA-19870, ORA-19599

As an Oracle DBA, I encountered a challenging issue while restoring a backup using RMAN. The restore failed because of a corrupted backup piece for datafile 50, throwing errors about block corruption and channel issues. Here is a detailed step-by-step resolution. I hope this is helpful for you as it was for me.

The Errors

During the restoration, RMAN reported:

---Corrupt block 19866 found during reading backup piece, file=/dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1, corr_type=-2
RMAN-06100: no channel to restore a backup or copy of datafile 50
rman-06094: datafile 50 must be restored

Step 1: Identify the Backup Set and run Validate backupset

I queried RMAN to confirm the backup piece for datafile 50:

RMAN> list backup of datafile 50;
List of Backup Pieces for backup set 98689 Copy #2
BP Key  Pc# Status      Piece Name
------- --- ----------- ----------
98651   1   AVAILABLE   /dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

Backup set 98689 included the corrupt piece. I validated it:

RMAN> validate backupset 98689;

Starting validate at 28-APR-25

using channel ORA_DISK_1

channel ORA_DISK_1: starting validation of datafile backup set

channel ORA_DISK_1: reading from backup piece /testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

RMAN-00571: ===========================================================

RMAN-00569: =============== ERROR MESSAGE STACK FOLLOWS ===============

RMAN-00571: ===========================================================

RMAN-03009: failure of validate command on ORA_DISK_1 channel at 04/05/2025 13:13:36

ORA-19870: error while restoring backup piece /dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

ORA-19599: block number 19866 is corrupt in backup piece /dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

The validation failed proving the backup piece /dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1 was corrupt, preventing restoration of datafile 50.

Step 2: Verify Backup File Integrity

To diagnose, I compared the backup piece on the target server (where I was restoring) with the source server (where the backup was created, luckily it had not been archived) using cksum.

Target Server:

[oracle@target testbackup]$ cksum /dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1
3296017808 224378880 /dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

Source Server:

[oracle@source testbackup]$ cksum /testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1
3739089964 224378880 /testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

The checksum for p89pmji_765440_1_1 differed (target: 3296017808, source: 3739089964), confirming the target’s file was corrupt.

Step 3: Replace the Corrupt Backup Piece

Since the source server’s p89pmji_765440_1_1 had the correct checksum (3739089964), I recopied it to the target, overwriting the corrupt file:

I verified the new file’s checksum on the target:

[oracle@target testbackup]$ cksum /dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1
3739089964 224378880 /dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

This matched the source, confirming the file was now correct.

Step 4: Re-Validate and Restore

I re-ran the validation:

RMAN> validate backupset 98689;
Starting validate at 28-APR-25

using channel ORA_DISK_1

channel ORA_DISK_1: starting validation of datafile backup set

channel ORA_DISK_1: reading from backup piece /testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

channel ORA_DISK_1: errors found reading piece handle=/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1

channel ORA_DISK_1: failover to piece handle=/dir/testbackup/p89pmji_765440_1_1 tag=TAG19900227T26578

channel ORA_DISK_1: restored backup piece 1

channel ORA_DISK_1: validation complete, elapsed time: 00:00:35

Finished validate at 28-APR-25

It completed successfully. Then, I was able to fully restore the backup.

The restoration succeeded, resolving the RMAN-06100, RMAN-06094, ORA-19870, and ORA-19599 errors.

This methodical approach restored the database without data loss. For similar RMAN issues, verify file integrity with cksum and validate backups—it’s a lifesaver!