Tape drive attached to master server

Directly attach at least one tape drive to the master server. Back up the Catalog directly to a tape and send this tape offsite. Retain the catalog backup job log with this Catalog backup media.

It is strongly recommended to use a separate media pool dedicated to Catalog backup operations and to retain Catalog backup job reports, which should be emailed or copied to where they can be easily accessed. These steps facilitate finding and recovering the master server data in the event of a disaster.

If you do not follow the recommendation to use a dedicated media pool and decide to mix Catalog backups with other file-level backups, be aware that backup retentions could prevent tapes from being free if the Catalog backup is retained on a long retention cycle. If you nevertheless decide to mix backups on media, it is recommended to use a new tape for each Catalog backup. This is done through the Set Job Destinations Options dialog by setting Tape Usage to Use a new Tape. Setting the option ensures that the Catalog backup is always on the first tape partition, making it much easier to locate and restore from the tape when no other data is available. Make sure you retain a record of the Catalog backup and you send media offsite.