Database Backup Recovery Manager
As most backup packages have their own tools for managing backup and recovery, the requirement for a backup recovery manager will probably be met by the backup software itself. Nonetheless, it is worth outlining here the abilities that a tool should have.
There are three main features required for the management of backups:
scheduling
backup data tracking
database awareness
It must be easy for operations and management staff to control backup schedules via the tool. The backup recovery manager will need to integrate with whatever schedule manager software is being used. You should check how easy it is to schedule a one off backup of part of the data warehouse. At the end of the day, backups are taken for one reason and one reason only: protection against data loss. Backups are useless if they cannot be used when they are required. There are a number of questions that you need to be able to answer with confidence.
For any given database data file or any file external to the database, do you:
know when it was last backed up?
know where the tape, or other medium, it was backed up to is located?
know where any related files, such as journal files, are located?