Recovery Matters Most

SAP applications on Oracle databases are the digital backbone of global finance, manufacturing, supply chain, and human resources management. Despite heavy investment in backup infrastructure, one unpleasant fact remains: backups are easy, recovery is hard. 

Anyone can create a backup. But when disaster strikes—whether it‘s human error, hardware failure, data corruption, or ransomware—the speed and reliability with which you can restore your SAP system determines whether your business survives the crisis or loses millions. Oracle aims to redefine the limits of what‘s possible with the Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance (ZDLRA).

SAP DB backup failures

Older backup systems were not designed for today‘s SAP workloads. While many can schedule backups and retain copies, few offer the speed, integrity assurance, and real-time protection that modern businesses need. Behind the flawless dashboards and positive system status reports, a silent crisis is brewing. IT managers in companies with SAP workloads know that most backup strategies are only good enough until something goes wrong. And when that happens, the facade collapses.

SAP systems today face a multitude of complex challenges. One of the biggest illusions is the so-called backup window. In reality, SAP systems never sleep, as users from different regions carry out transactions around the clock. The idea that there is a safe time window for backups therefore remains pure fantasy. Companies are consequently faced with the choice of either performing risky backups during ongoing operations, or doing without them altogether.

Another problem relates to enormous databases, which now often range in size from 20 to over 100 terabytes and are thus literally too large to fail—or be restored quickly. Many backup systems reach their limits when restoring large amounts of data. This results in a painful recovery phase that often lasts days or weeks, during which every delay means immediate loss of revenue. Even common backup methods based on snapshots have critical weaknesses. They are static, do not capture changes in real time, and often neglect redo logs, which ensure data consistency. This creates large transaction gaps which can have devastating consequences in an emergency.

Many companies also face the dilemma of having to pursue separate strategies for their SAP systems and all other IT areas. This means double licensing costs, isolated storage systems, multiple operating systems, and chaotic recovery processes. CIOs are forced to manage complicated and vulnerable “Frankenstein architectures” that can fail at critical moments. 

But what is particularly stressful for IT teams is the paranoia about the unknown when it comes to recovery. When they click “Restore,” they are always left with the anxious question of whether the backup is truly intact. 

The fear of discovering too late that the backup was inadequate accompanies every IT team and increases the pressure enormously. The risks are immense because SAP applications form the backbone of business operations—whether in finance, manufacturing, warehousing, or human resources. A failure during recovery is not only annoying, but tantamount to a systemic collapse—a heart attack for the entire business process. 

Recovery with Oracle ZDLRA

ZDLRA is officially supported in SAP environments, as confirmed in SAP Note 105047 "Support for Oracle functions in the SAP environment". This solution is therefore not only fully compatible, but also expressly approved and supported by Oracle. It stands out from conventional backup solutions because it was not designed as a simple backup appliance, but as a powerful recovery platform. From the outset, Oracle aimed to ensure guaranteed, fast recovery without any loss of data. 

From the outset, Oracle‘s goal was to ensure guaranteed, fast recovery without any data loss. These benefits apply to all Oracle databases, including those for SAP, regardless of the operating system used. ZDLRA thus offers a reliable, platform-independent solution that provides companies with crucial security in critical situations. ZDLRA offers the fastest recovery speeds of any backup platform worldwide—up to 15–24 terabytes per hour. This level of performance is unmatched by any other provider, making ZDLRA the first choice for companies with extensive SAP landscapes. ZDLRA managed, in less than three to four hours, to restore a 60-terabyte SAP production database. Most conventional systems would take ten to fifteen hours or even longer. This time difference is the difference between a short service interruption and a full-blown operational crisis.

Why it always works

ZDLRA has block-level intelligence and does not just back up data files, but understands Oracle data blocks. This means that only the blocks that have changed need to be backed up, which reduces backup windows and data traffic while ensuring recovery consistency.

Space-saving encrypted backups: unlike other solutions, Oracle ZDLRA compresses TDE-encrypted backups, saving space, speeding up recovery and ensuring comprehensive data protection.

Real-time redo transport: ZDLRA captures Oracle redo logs in near real time. This ensures zero data loss (RPO = 0), even between backups. In the event of corruption or failure, recovery can continue without transaction gaps.

End-to-end data validation: each backup is automatically checked for corruption, consistency and usability. This eliminates the uncertainty of restore attempts—you restore a clean, trustworthy copy every time.

ZDLRA creates full backups on demand from incremental changes without ever having to re-read terabytes of unchanged data. This enables instant restore points without the burden of frequent full backups.

Cloud-enabled provisioning platform: ZDLRA is primarily an on-prem provisioning platform. Customers running SAP applications on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure can use the same service with the same security with the "Zero Data Loss Autonomous Recovery Service - ZDLARS".

It‘s about total cost of ownership, not dollars per terabyte of storage. ZDLRA is designed not only for performance, but also for long-term cost efficiency. Unlike traditional backup environments, where hidden costs arise from sprawling infrastructure, third-party tool chains, and high operational overhead, it simplifies the entire backup and recovery stack. With native integration, built-in deduplication, automatic validation, and real-time recovery capabilities, it reduces complexity, minimizes management overhead, and eliminates the need for complex multi-vendor setups. 

Most importantly, with a recovery rate of 15 to 24 terabytes per hour, it dramatically reduces downtime, turning extended outages into quick recoveries. The result is lower total cost of ownership (TCO), higher reliability, and faster recovery times.

Air-gap resilience

When it comes to fast database recovery, speed alone is not enough—security is just as important. With ransomware and cyber threats on the rise, backup systems themselves are targets. ZDLRA addresses this challenge by integrating advanced security mechanisms. 

The platform supports immutable replication and air-gap configurations. Backup data is securely replicated to a secondary ZDLRA system or, alternatively, to the Oracle Cloud. These solutions enable physical or logical “air gaps,” i.e., security distances that ensure that clean, uncompromised recovery points are available in the event of a malware attack or sabotage. This means companies get the best possible data security and integrity in critical situations.

Modern CIOs are not measured by how many backups they create, but by how quickly, cleanly and reliably they can bring the company back online without data loss. With ZDLRA, recovery is no longer a gamble, it's a guarantee.

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