What is a recovery catalog
A recovery catalog is a very useful option for storing the repository data of all of RMAN's operations. Though the name says catalog, it is actually a schema with views and tables inside it that will store the metadata. A recovery catalog offers some very distinct features, such as:
The default repository and the control file can overwrite the RMAN metadata by default after seven days. A recovery catalog, on the other hand, is a far more persistent repository.
Using a recovery catalog, you can create RMAN-stored scripts which can be used in repeated executions of the tasks. These scripts can be created globally by enabling them to be used by any RMAN client that can connect to a target database and to the recovery catalog.
If you are willing to use RMAN in Data Guard, a recovery catalog is required.
A single recovery catalog acts as the central repository for multiple target databases. There are features to provide privacy for the management of different databases...
