I backup my controlfiles using both these methods:

alter database backup controlfile to trace;

alter database backup controlfile to
'/u07/backup/fndry_p/database/control.10032001204745';

The second one I noticed actually copies the control file to that location. I am using hotbackups (tablespace in backup mode etc), I was wondering if this copy was valuable. I mean the database is up while I used this command. If something happened to all my controlfiles, could I use this to restore?

Thanks in advance,
Nirasha