Definition of Backup Catalog in Network Encyclopedia.

What is Backup Catalog?

Backup Catalog is a representation of the results of performing a backup of servers on a network. Backup software such as the Microsoft Windows NT administrative tool Windows NT Backup and Backup in Windows 2000 create catalogs so that backed up files are documented and can be found when performing a restore. Windows NT Backup stores its catalogs on the backup storage media themselves. These catalogs are then loaded into memory when the program is run. Catalogs can also be saved to disk and can be printed for documentation purposes.

Backup Catalog example

On the Windows NT platform, the administrative tool Windows NT Backup creates two different types of backup catalogs:

• Tape catalog: Lists the details of all backup sets that have been stored on the tape. If a backup operation spans several tapes, the tape catalog is located on the last tape of the series, because it is created at the end of the backup operation. 
• Backup set catalog: Lists the details of files and folders included in a specific backup set. A backup set catalog is saved at the end of each backup set on the tape. This catalog is used by the Windows NT Backup program to store a summary of the file and directory information for the backup set, the number of tapes in the backup set, and the date on which the backup was performed. 

Backup Catalog set of tapes

If a backup operation spans several tapes and the last tape is missing or damaged, the tape catalog will not be available. However, you can still obtain a complete list of the various backup sets on the tapes by running Windows NT Backup from the command line using the ntbackup command with the /missingtape switch.