Best practices for Backup Exec 2012 catalogs

• Do not delete or edit the files in BE_INSTALL\Catalogs\directory. The catalog files store the metadata for the backup sets.
• Back up the catalog files in BE_INSTALL\Catalogs\directory. Consider backing up the catalog files after you back up or perform maintenance on the Backup Exec Database.
  
  

The following recommendations are to help you choose the best catalog location to use in a Central Admin Server Option (CASO) environment:

• The distributed catalog location is the default location, and is efficient and suitable for a CASO environment that uses a wide area network (WAN). An example of this environment is if the central administration server is located in a cloud and the managed Backup Exec servers are on a local network.
• The centralized catalog location is best suited for use in a CASO environment that uses SAN-connected shared storage with a stable, high-bandwidth network between the central administration server and the managed Backup Exec servers. Use a centralized catalog location if the managed Backup Exec servers have minimal CPUs and disk space, and if the central administration server has significantly more CPUs and memory.
• The replicated catalog location is best suited for a CASO environment that has a stable, high-bandwidth network between the central administration server and the managed Backup Exec servers. A replicated catalog location can provide better performance through catalog redundancy since queries for catalog information are performed locally.