When a backup or restore operation is run on an automatically allocated channel, and if the channel is not released, the job continues to run on the media server even after the operation ends on the RMAN console. The channel is not released if the RMAN console is not exited, or if a new manual channel is not allocated on that console. The job ends on the media server when either the automatic channel is released, or after a time-out period elapses without any activity on that channel, whichever occurs first. If a new backup or restore operation is started within the time-out period on the same automatic channel, a new job is not created. Instead, the existing job performs the operation at the media server.

The channel time-out has a default value of 10 minutes, which is recommended for most purposes. If the time-out is too short, then multiple jobs are created for successive operations on a channel. If the time-out is too long, the job runs for a long time on the media server unnecessarily, after the operation has ended.

The following table describes how to change the default time-out.