You can delete long-term backups created using the bkup_api utility with the --keep option.

You cannot delete backups that are associated with the automatic backup configuration, whether they were created using the bkup_api utility or the Oracle Database Cloud Service console. These backups are deleted automatically based on the retention period that is associated with the automatic backup configuration.

To delete a long-term backup of a database deployment on Oracle Database Exadata Cloud at Customer:

1. Connect to a compute node as the opc user.

   For detailed instructions, see Connecting to a Compute Node Through Secure Shell (SSH).

2. Start a root-user command shell:

   $ sudo -s
   #

3. List the available long-term backups:

   # /var/opt/oracle/bkup_api/bkup_api list --keep --dbname=dbname
   

   where dbname is the database name for the database that you want to act on.

   A list of available backups is displayed. Note the tag of the backup that you want to delete.

4. Delete the backup:

   # /var/opt/oracle/bkup_api/bkup_api bkup_delete --bkup=backup-tag --dbname=dbname
   

   where backup-tag is the tag of the backup you want to delete.

5. Exit the root-user command shell:

   # exit
   $