Overview:  NetBackup SAP backups with RMAN fail with either a Status Code 236 (the specified client does not exist in an active policy within the configuration database) or a 239 (the specified client does not exist in the specified policy).

Troubleshooting:
Check the Activity Monitor for a NetBackup Status Code 236 or 239 on the SAP database backups  


Resolution:
When configuring the NetBackup for SAP backups with RMAN, it is necessary to follow the information outlined in the NetBackup SAP administrator guides (see Related Documents below), specifically the "Modifying the Configuration Files" section and the "Modifying the initSID.sap File (NetBackup for SAP on Oracle Databases)" portion.  

Step four in the process indicates the following:

"(Conditional) Specify the rman_parms parameter and set the NB_ORA_SAP environment variable to the value SAP.

Perform this step only if you are using NetBackup for SAP on an Oracle database with RMAN."

The "Conditional" term indicates this step may or may not be necessary, depending on how the local environment is designed.  In this case, to correctly use RMAN with the brbackup and brrestore commands, the initSID.sap file must have the rman_parms parameter configured as outlined in the manual.  Specifically, it should be set up as follows:

rman_parms = "ENV=(NB_ORA_SAP=<path_of_utl_file>)"

If the utility file for the environment is called initDATABASE.utl and is located in the /oracle/db directory, the correct information for the parameter is:
rman_parms = "ENV=(NB_ORA_SAP=/oracle/db/initDATABASE.utl)"