Archive Logs filling up Flash Recovery Area (FRA) space I got hired to fill a position of DBA that I wasn't quite ready to fill, and while the training is getting me there, I am running close to a potential issue.

My oracle 11g database's Flash Recovery Area (FRA) is getting very close to being full(2.5% left). It is in ARCHIVELOG mode since we do live backups(at least that is the reason I was told). We have cleared up all unneeded backups through the enterprise manager, but the Archive logs are still taking up over 50% of the allocated FRA space. Is it possible to delete some of the older archive logs to free up space? The server holds logs from several months ago still, and we don't really need backups that far back.

If I can delete them, what would be the best way to do this?
Oracle will automatically delete obsolete files. In general, you should not have to manually delete anything.


  An important part of RMAN maintenance is deleting backups that are no longer needed. If you configure a fast recovery area, then the database automatically deletes unneeded files in this area automatically


From Overview of RMAN Backup and Repository Maintenance

First, determine if you are running out of space. For example using the following query (sample output included):

SELECT * FROM V$RECOVERY_FILE_DEST;

NAME            SPACE_LIMIT SPACE_USED SPACE_RECLAIMABLE NUMBER_OF_FILES
--------------  ----------- ---------- ----------------- ---------------
/mydisk/rcva     5368709120 109240320             256000              28


If you are running out of space you have to either decrease your retention policy or increase the size of your FRA.