🔐 The PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD: Simplifying Oracle 23ai High Availability

🔐 PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD: Simplifying Oracle 23ai High Availability 🔐

Alireza Kamrani 

Oracle has taken a significant step forward in simplifying high availability configuration with the introduction of the PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD command in Oracle 23c.

For DBAs who have wrestled with the intricacies of setting up Data Guard environments, this is a game-changer.

 

 Why This Matters

Setting up Oracle Data Guard has traditionally been a manual and error-prone process. It required:

• Manually configuring initialization parameters
• Enabling supplemental logging and also enable Flashback
• Managing redo transport services
• Creating standby control files
• Configuring listeners and tnsnames.ora

Even a small oversight in configuration could result in hours of troubleshooting.

With the new PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD command, Oracle automates much of this complexity — making the setup faster, safer, and more consistent.

 

What It Does

When you run:

DGMGRL> help prepare

Prepare a primary database for a Data Guard environment.

Syntax:

  PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD

    [WITH [DB_UNIQUE_NAME IS ]

          [DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST IS ]

          [DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST_SIZE IS ]

          [BROKER_CONFIG_FILE_1 IS ]

          [BROKER_CONFIG_FILE_2 IS ]];

 

Some Example:

DGMGRL> PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD;

or

DGMGRL> PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD with DB_UNIQUE_NAME is POP01_STBY;

Or

DGMGRL> PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD WITH DB_UNIQUE_NAME IS POP01

      DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST IS '+FRA

      DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST_SIZE is 50G

      BROKER_CONFIG_FILE_1 is '+DATA'

      BROKER_CONFIG_FILE_2 is '+FRA’;

 

Oracle automatically:

• Enables necessary supplemental logging
• Sets required initialization parameters
• Validates archive log and flashback settings
• Ensures that the database is ready to become a primary or standby
• Optionally, generates a ready-to-use Data Guard Broker configuration

This means less time spent on preparation and fewer chances for human error.

 

 

Note:

As a first experience, it is a good plan to make a copy of the current spfile as a pfile and compare them after running the "PREPARE DATABASE FOR" command to be aware of all changes and configurations.

 

Who Benefits?

• Experienced DBAs benefit by reducing routine configuration time
• Junior DBAs get a safer, easier on-ramp to high availability setups
• Organizations benefit from more reliable disaster recovery configurations and quicker deployment

 

Real-World Impact

In practice, this command standardizes the prep process across environments and teams.

Whether you’re onboarding a new system or modernizing your DR strategy, PREPARE DATABASE FOR DATA GUARD offers a repeatable and supported way to bring your databases into a high availability architecture.

 

Final Thoughts

Oracle 23c continues the trend of automation and intelligent defaults — allowing DBAs to shift focus from routine tasks to strategic initiatives like performance tuning, security hardening, and architectural planning.

If you're planning to implement Oracle Data Guard or improve your HA/DR posture, this new command is worth exploring.

 

 Have you tried it yet? I'd love to hear your experience or thoughts on the evolution of automation in Oracle database management.