Basically I'm asking this question to resolve a surrounding issue in another thread, but here we go:
Suppose one takes a COLD backup. I know, that's not something linked with RMAN directly, but subsequent action is :
This guy says : I am taking a cold backup, I copy the files to another server, on which he does the necessary to be able to startup that database.
But then, since backup and the moment of the above action, time has passed.
So, there are redologs archived ... because the database is in archivelog mode !
And, he wants to do the obvious : use those archived redos, to bring the database to a later point in time.
To be clear; the archived redos are created by the source database. The target database has just been copied and started, nothing else.
If the backup was a hot backup, no issue. But, since the backup is cold, this is not possible, right ?
My idea is that he also has to take a hot backup, in addition.
I have asked already, and despite running the database in archivelog mode, the backup must be taken in cold backup mode, for an unknown reason. Probably, this is the old method, to which they now just want to add the redolog recovery, but without changing cold to hot.