In Oracle databases, Flashback tools allow administrators and users to view and manipulate past states of an instance's data without (destructively) recovering to a fixed point in time.
Compare the functionality of Oracle LogMiner, which identifies how and when data changed rather than its state at a given time.
Flashback requires the Flash Recovery Area (FRA),[1] a storage area that allows Flash Backup and Recovery operations on Oracle databases.
DBAs may configure the FRA on an ASM diskgroup or on local disk.
It is a specific area of disk storage that is set aside exclusively for retention of backup components such as datafile image copies, archived redo logs, and control-file autobackup copies.