plus archivelog' and RMAN optimization

I just want to raise a warning flag for DBAs using RMAN and flash recovery area in Oracle 10g. An RMAN script is usually something like:
backup database plus archivelogHowever, the behavior of
plus archivelog
depends on whether optimization is enabled or disabled in RMAN. The RMAN reference document says that when the
plus archivelog
command is part of a backup script, RMAN:
- runs an
ALTER SYSTEM ARCHIVE LOG CURRENT
statement. - runs the
BACKUP ARCHIVELOG ALL
command. Note that if backup optimization is enabled, RMAN only backs up logs that have not yet been backed up. - backs up the files specified in the
BACKUP
command. - runs an
ALTER SYSTEM ARCHIVE LOG CURRENT
statement. - backs up any remaining archived redo logs
plus archivelogs
will backup all archivelogs. If the archivelog destination is a flash recovery area, your database may keep very old archivelogs (assuming space is not an issue). Thus, the backup size will gradually grow and fill up the flash recovery area, since each backup includes all archivelogs in the flash recovery area. The lesson is, to avoid backing up archivelogs that have already been backed up when using
plus archivelog
in a backup script, make sure you enable RMAN optimization. You can also find more details at
https://oradbatips.blogspot.com/. Hope this helps.