By Franck Pachot

.
The database must know where are the files. If you move them from the OS, the database will not be aware of it. But there is a database tool to copy or move files and update the database repository (controlfile). It’s RMAN. With RMAN you can either:

  • update the repository after you’ve moved the file from the OS
  • or do the both: move and update the repository

The syntax is a bit weird, so let’s have an example.

RMAN> CATALOG

I have the following archived logs in the /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23 directory:

[oracle@VM111 2015_06_23]$ pwd /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23 
[oracle@VM111 2015_06_23]$ ls -alrt total 188 
drwxr-x---. 5 oracle oinstall 4096 Jun 23 21:40 .. 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 120320 Jun 23 21:44 o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 3584 Jun 23 21:44 o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 2560 Jun 23 21:44 o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 1536 Jun 23 21:44 o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 30208 Jun 23 21:45 o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 6144 Jun 23 21:45 o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 4096 Jun 23 21:45 o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 2560 Jun 23 21:45 o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc 
drwxr-x---. 2 oracle oinstall 4096 Jun 23 21:45 .

and I move them to /u01/DEMO/temp/:

[oracle@VM111 2015_06_23]$ mv * /u01/DEMO/temp/

my current directory is empty:

[oracle@VM111 2015_06_23]$ ls -alrt total 8 drwxr-x---. 5 oracle oinstall 4096 Jun 23 21:40 .. drwxr-x---. 2 oracle oinstall 4096 Jun 23 21:50 .

and the /u01 one has my archived logs:

[oracle@VM111 2015_06_23]$ ls -alrt /u01/DEMO/temp total 188 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 120320 Jun 23 21:44 o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 3584 Jun 23 21:44 o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 2560 Jun 23 21:44 o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 1536 Jun 23 21:44 o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 30208 Jun 23 21:45 o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 6144 Jun 23 21:45 o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 4096 Jun 23 21:45 o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc 
-rw-r-----. 1 oracle oinstall 2560 Jun 23 21:45 o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc 
drwxr-x---. 10 oracle oinstall 4096 Jun 23 21:49 .. 
drwxr-xr-x. 2 oracle oinstall 4096 Jun 23 21:50 . 
[oracle@VM111 2015_06_23]$

But let’s list the archived logs from RMAN:

[oracle@VM111 2015_06_23]$ rman target /
Recovery Manager: Release 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on Tue Jun 23 21:50:48 2015
Copyright (c) 1982, 2014, Oracle and/or its affiliates.  All rights reserved.
connected to target database: DEMO11 (DBID=684456715)
 
RMAN> list archivelog all;
 
using target database control file instead of recovery catalog
List of Archived Log Copies for database with db_unique_name DEMO11
=====================================================================
 
Key     Thrd Seq     S Low Time
------- ---- ------- - ---------
82      1    61      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc
84      1    62      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc
86      1    63      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc
88      1    64      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc
90      1    65      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc
92      1    66      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc
94      1    67      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc
96      1    68      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc

the repository (in the controlfile) still have the old location. If I need the redologs to recover the database, then it will fail.

The CROSSCHECK command can be used so that RMAN verifies if the files are still there:

RMAN> crosscheck archivelog all;
allocated channel: ORA_DISK_1 channel ORA_DISK_1: SID=75 device type=DISK 
validation failed for archived log archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc RECID=82 STAMP=883172658 
validation failed for archived log archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc RECID=84 STAMP=883172663 
validation failed for archived log archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc RECID=86 STAMP=883172665 
validation failed for archived log archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc RECID=88 STAMP=883172666 
validation failed for archived log archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc RECID=90 STAMP=883172712 
validation failed for archived log archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc RECID=92 STAMP=883172722 
validation failed for archived log archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc RECID=94 STAMP=883172728 
validation failed for archived log archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc RECID=96 STAMP=883172731 
Crosschecked 8 objects

validation failed for all of them. They are marked as EXPIRED:

RMAN> list archivelog all;
 
List of Archived Log Copies for database with db_unique_name DEMO11
=====================================================================
 
Key     Thrd Seq     S Low Time
------- ---- ------- - ---------
82      1    61      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc
84      1    62      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc
86      1    63      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc
88      1    64      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc
90      1    65      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc
92      1    66      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc
94      1    67      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc
96      1    68      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc

which means that the database do not know any archived logs now.

I did only one part of the job. Now I need to register the new location with the CATALOG command:

RMAN> catalog start with '/u01/DEMO/temp';
 
searching for all files that match the pattern /u01/DEMO/temp
 
List of Files Unknown to the Database
=====================================
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc
 
Do you really want to catalog the above files (enter YES or NO)? YES
cataloging files...
cataloging done
 
List of Cataloged Files
=======================
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc
File Name: /u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc

the file types and the header is read to see if the file belongs to this database. Then they are registered. Before listing them, I remove the expired entries:

RMAN> delete expired archivelog all;
 
released channel: ORA_DISK_1
allocated channel: ORA_DISK_1
channel ORA_DISK_1: SID=75 device type=DISK
List of Archived Log Copies for database with db_unique_name DEMO11
=====================================================================
 
Key     Thrd Seq     S Low Time
------- ---- ------- - ---------
82      1    61      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc
84      1    62      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc
86      1    63      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc
88      1    64      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc
90      1    65      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc
92      1    66      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc
94      1    67      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc
96      1    68      X 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc
 
Do you really want to delete the above objects (enter YES or NO)? YES
deleted archived log
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc RECID=82 STAMP=883172658
deleted archived log
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc RECID=84 STAMP=883172663
deleted archived log
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc RECID=86 STAMP=883172665
deleted archived log
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc RECID=88 STAMP=883172666
deleted archived log
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc RECID=90 STAMP=883172712
deleted archived log
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc RECID=92 STAMP=883172722
deleted archived log
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc RECID=94 STAMP=883172728
deleted archived log
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc RECID=96 STAMP=883172731
Deleted 8 EXPIRED objects

and I can verify that a crosscheck validates all my files from the new location:

RMAN> crosscheck archivelog all;
 
released channel: ORA_DISK_1
allocated channel: ORA_DISK_1
channel ORA_DISK_1: SID=75 device type=DISK
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc RECID=104 STAMP=883173169
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc RECID=102 STAMP=883173169
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc RECID=103 STAMP=883173169
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc RECID=97 STAMP=883173169
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc RECID=101 STAMP=883173169
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc RECID=99 STAMP=883173169
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc RECID=100 STAMP=883173169
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc RECID=98 STAMP=883173169
Crosschecked 8 objects

RMAN> BACKUP AS COPY

Let’s do the same in one command. RMAN is there to do backups. Backups can go to backupsets or they can be a simple copy with BACKUP AS COPY. The destination is defined with the backup FORMAT string. And if we want to move instead of copy, we just add the DELETE INPUT.

RMAN> backup as copy archivelog all format '/u03/DEMO/temp/%U' delete input;
 
Starting backup at 23-JUN-15
current log archived
using channel ORA_DISK_1
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=69 RECID=106 STAMP=883173353
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-69_T-1_A-880845261_0bqa8a0b RECID=109 STAMP=883173387
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_69_brmgg9on_.arc RECID=106 STAMP=8
83173353
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=61 RECID=104 STAMP=883173169
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-61_T-1_A-880845261_0cqa8a0d RECID=110 STAMP=883173389
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_61_brmfrl7v_.arc RECID=104 STAMP=883173169
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=65 RECID=101 STAMP=883173169
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-65_T-1_A-880845261_0dqa8a0e RECID=111 STAMP=883173390
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_65_brmft8n5_.arc RECID=101 STAMP=883173169
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=70 RECID=108 STAMP=883173387
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-70_T-1_A-880845261_0eqa8a0f RECID=112 STAMP=883173391
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u02/DEMO/fast_recovery_area/DEMO11/archivelog/2015_06_23/o1_mf_1_70_brmghct5_.arc RECID=108 STAMP=8
83173387
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=66 RECID=99 STAMP=883173169
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-66_T-1_A-880845261_0fqa8a0g RECID=113 STAMP=883173392
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_66_brmftlpg_.arc RECID=99 STAMP=883173169
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=67 RECID=100 STAMP=883173169
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-67_T-1_A-880845261_0gqa8a0h RECID=114 STAMP=883173393
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_67_brmftr8w_.arc RECID=100 STAMP=883173169
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=62 RECID=102 STAMP=883173169
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-62_T-1_A-880845261_0hqa8a0i RECID=115 STAMP=883173394
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_62_brmfrq6c_.arc RECID=102 STAMP=883173169
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=63 RECID=103 STAMP=883173169
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-63_T-1_A-880845261_0iqa8a0j RECID=116 STAMP=883173395
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_63_brmfrsts_.arc RECID=103 STAMP=883173169
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=68 RECID=98 STAMP=883173169
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-68_T-1_A-880845261_0jqa8a0k RECID=117 STAMP=883173396
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_68_brmftvwn_.arc RECID=98 STAMP=883173169
channel ORA_DISK_1: starting archived log copy
input archived log thread=1 sequence=64 RECID=97 STAMP=883173169
output file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-64_T-1_A-880845261_0kqa8a0l RECID=118 STAMP=883173397
channel ORA_DISK_1: archived log copy complete, elapsed time: 00:00:01
channel ORA_DISK_1: deleting archived log(s)
archived log file name=/u01/DEMO/temp/o1_mf_1_64_brmfrtjs_.arc RECID=97 STAMP=883173169
Finished backup at 23-JUN-15

The syntax is very different from a move command but it’s the same. The file names may have changed (because of the %U format) but who cares? Only RMAN should know what is inside the files. You have a repository (controlfile or rman catalog) which knows all the attributes about the files (DBID, thread#, sequence#, SCN, etc) so better rely on that rather than on a file name and timestamp.

Look at the files, they are now in my third destination:

RMAN> list archivelog all;
 
List of Archived Log Copies for database with db_unique_name DEMO11
=====================================================================
 
Key     Thrd Seq     S Low Time
------- ---- ------- - ---------
110     1    61      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-61_T-1_A-880845261_0cqa8a0d
115     1    62      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-62_T-1_A-880845261_0hqa8a0i
116     1    63      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-63_T-1_A-880845261_0iqa8a0j
118     1    64      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-64_T-1_A-880845261_0kqa8a0l
111     1    65      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-65_T-1_A-880845261_0dqa8a0e
113     1    66      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-66_T-1_A-880845261_0fqa8a0g
114     1    67      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-67_T-1_A-880845261_0gqa8a0h
117     1    68      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-68_T-1_A-880845261_0jqa8a0k
109     1    69      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-69_T-1_A-880845261_0bqa8a0b
112     1    70      A 23-JUN-15
        Name: /u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-70_T-1_A-880845261_0eqa8a0f

and a crosscheck validates that they are accesible there:

RMAN> crosscheck archivelog all;
 
released channel: ORA_DISK_1
allocated channel: ORA_DISK_1
channel ORA_DISK_1: SID=75 device type=DISK
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-61_T-1_A-880845261_0cqa8a0d RECID=110 STAMP=883173389
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-62_T-1_A-880845261_0hqa8a0i RECID=115 STAMP=883173394
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-63_T-1_A-880845261_0iqa8a0j RECID=116 STAMP=883173395
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-64_T-1_A-880845261_0kqa8a0l RECID=118 STAMP=883173397
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-65_T-1_A-880845261_0dqa8a0e RECID=111 STAMP=883173390
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-66_T-1_A-880845261_0fqa8a0g RECID=113 STAMP=883173392
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-67_T-1_A-880845261_0gqa8a0h RECID=114 STAMP=883173393
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-68_T-1_A-880845261_0jqa8a0k RECID=117 STAMP=883173396
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-69_T-1_A-880845261_0bqa8a0b RECID=109 STAMP=883173387
validation succeeded for archived log
archived log file name=/u03/DEMO/temp/arch_D-DEMO11_id-684456715_S-70_T-1_A-880845261_0eqa8a0f RECID=112 STAMP=883173391
Crosschecked 10 objects

Conclusion

Which one do you prefer? Managing database files from the OS is old-style. You are doing your backups with RMAN, so why not use RMAN to do any operations on the files. Then you are sure that the repository is up to date. When you will need your archivelogs to recover, you don’t want to waste time finding where an archived logs has been moved one day by a collegue that forgot to re-catalog them because of the emergency situation.