Example of a backup script under Linux (CentOS/RedHat/Oracle).
This script exports all data from a set of schemas, exports a few Apex applications and their workspace, makes a .tar.gz file out of all these files plus the backup script file(s), and copies the resulting .tar.gz file to a remote backup location.
The script can be run as root - user oracle is probably also possible but root is easier.

Note that this script copies the export file to OneDrive, which is what I happen to use, but of course any other (network/cloud) storage option is fine.
If you want to use OneDrive, the info at https://www.maketecheasier.com/sync-onedrive-linux/ is very helpful.

APEXExport requires some setup (java, environment) before you can use it properly. More info on that can be found here.

Note that (depending on the database version you use) you may have to change the values for ORACLE_HOME & APEX_HOME, and also change the CLASSPATH path to point to another version of the ojdbc jar file.

Execute as OS user oracle or root: #!/bin/bash export ORACLE_HOME=/opt/oracle/product/21c/dbhomeXE export NLS_LANG=AMERICAN_AMERICA.AL32UTF8 export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin/java:$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH export JAVA_HOME=/usr/bin/java export APEX_HOME=$ORACLE_HOME/apex export CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/jdbc/lib/ojdbc8.jar:$APEX_HOME/utilities:$CLASSPATH:. LOGFILE=/backup/backup.log UP=`ps -ef|grep -i pmon|grep -v grep|wc -l` if [ "$UP" -ge "1" ] then cd /backup rm -f *.gz rm -f *.dmp expdp system/password@XEPDB1 dumpfile=expdp.dmp directory=export_dir logfile=backup.log schemas=DEV_OWNER,ESB_OWNER,ISR_AUTH,ISR_CORE,ISR_MONITOR,ISR_OWNER,ISR_TRACE,ISR_USER,LOG_OWNER,SMS_1_OWNER,SMS_1_POS,SMS_1_WS,PLPDF reuse_dumpfiles=y PREV_DIR=${PWD} cd $ORACLE_HOME/apex/utilities java oracle/apex/APEXExport -db localhost:1521:XEPDB1 -user APEX_220100 -password password -applicationid 25384 2>&1 | tee -a $LOGFILE java oracle/apex/APEXExport -db localhost:1521:XEPDB1 -user APEX_220100 -password password -expWorkspace 2>&1 | tee -a $LOGFILE mv f*.sql $PREV_DIR mv w*.sql $PREV_DIR cd $PREV_DIR tar czf - *.sql *.dmp *.sh *.log *.parm > export_apex.tar.gz 2>&1 | tee -a $LOGFILE mv export_apex.tar.gz export_apex_$(date +%Y_%m_%d).tar.gz rm -f ./OneDrive/DMZ-DB-08/export_apex_*.tar.gz cp export_apex_*.tar.gz ./OneDrive/DMZ-DB-08/ onedrive --synchronize --upload-only --no-remote-delete 2>&1 | tee -a $LOGFILE rm -f *.sql *.dmp # Verify if an Oracle error has been raised if grep -q ORA- $LOGFILE then echo "ERROR: An Oracle error has occurred, check $LOGFILE" exit 1 fi else echo "ERROR: Database is not running. Backup will be skipped." 2>&1 | tee $LOGFILE exit 1 fi

Variation on the script above, using a parameter file.
This script exports all data from a set of schemas, excluding a number of tables. The rest is the same as above.

Change this line: expdp system/password@XEPDB1 dumpfile=expdp.dmp directory=export_dir logfile=backup.log schemas=DEV_OWNER,ESB_OWNER,ISR_AUTH,ISR_CORE,ISR_MONITOR,ISR_OWNER,ISR_TRACE,ISR_USER,LOG_OWNER,SMS_1_OWNER,SMS_1_POS,SMS_1_WS,PLPDF reuse_dumpfiles=y To: expdp system/password@XEPDB1 parfile=backup.parm
Create the parameter file backup.parm: dumpfile=expdp.dmp exclude=TABLE:"IN ('PBY_DATA_TABLE', 'PBY_QTABLE', 'PBY_IMDB_TITLES')" directory=backup_dir logfile=backup.log schemas=DEV_OWNER,ESB_OWNER,ISR_AUTH,ISR_CORE,ISR_MONITOR,ISR_OWNER,ISR_TRACE,ISR_USER,LOG_OWNER,SMS_1_OWNER,SMS_1_POS,SMS_1_WS,PLPDF reuse_dumpfiles=y

You can rebuild a database very easily (and fast) on a new server, by restoring its data files from the "oradata" directory. Nothing new, but I was quite amazed at how smoothly this works.

Provided you took care of these steps, restore is a breeze:

• Your backup of the datafiles in the "oradata" directory was made with the DB shut down normally.
• The server you are restoring to is either (a backup of) the exact same server you backed up, or a new server that has Oracle installed in the exact same way (same oracle home, instance name, etc.). Hostname, network configuration etc. can be different.

As an example, I did the following to restore an XE 11g database (from a dead server to a new virtual machine):

• Stop the database:
  As root: /etc/init.d/oracle-xe stop
• Move the new ("empty") database files to /tmp, just in case:
  As oracle: cd /u01/app/oracle/oradata/XE
  As oracle: mkdir /tmp/xe_new_backup
  As oracle: mv *.dbf /tmp/xe_new_backup/
• Restore the original data files and make sure oracle:dba is the owner (make sure oracle:dba is correct for you, change to the owner of the new ("empty") data files if needed):
  As root: cd /u01/app/oracle/oradata/XE
  As root: cp /backup/oradata/XE/*.dbf .
  As root: chown oracle:dba *.dbf
• Finalize:
  As oracle: cd /u01/app/oracle/oradata/XE
  As oracle: sqlplus sys/password as sysdba
  As oracle: SQL> startup mount
  As oracle: SQL> recover database until cancel
  As oracle: SQL> alter database open resetlogs;
• Stop & start database:
  As root: /etc/init.d/oracle-xe stop
  As root: /etc/init.d/oracle-xe start

More info: https://community.oracle.com/thread/874166?start=0&tstart=0