Thanks a lot for the helpful answers. We will probably go that way.
Some follow-up questions though:
Short version:
Can i use GRT with the dedup'd data that remains on CASO as long as CASO is available?
And, if CASO is destroyed, is BE able to recover the catalogs from opt-dedup (Can i, after setting up a new CASO, do a complete restore of the opt-dedup'd Data, even if i do not have any CASO catalogs whatsoever)?
And, can i use GRT when i write back the opt-dedup'd data to the CASO dedup folder (or a regular disk folder)?
Long version:
The Admin guide says "Note: Optimized duplication is not available for backup sets that are enabled for Granular Recovery Technology."
Concerning that, i found this:
http://www.symantec.com/connect/forums/optimized-deduplication-and-grt
Which links to http://webobjects.cdw.com/webobjects/media/pdf/symantec/Backup-Exec-2010-Deduplication-Options.pdf.
("Backup Exec’s Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) can also be used in conjunction with Optimized Duplication.")
It seems to me this was not answered sufficiently (at least there was no confirmation for what the last poster said). So the question remains for me:
Does that mean in case i need to use the opt-dedup data, i first have to write it back to free disk space on the CASO (What exactly is meant by stage to disk in the second link (english is not my first language)?)? Can i do this:
BU to dedup (with GRT on CASO) to opt-dedup (without GRT on Server2)?
Or, if not, what about:
BU to disk (with GRT on CASO) to dedup (without GRT on CASO) to opt-dedup (without GRT on Server 2)?
And what if CASO will be completely unavailable? Will Server 2 be enough to do a full recovery? The reason i ask this is because it seems there is no way to keep the opt-dedup catalog on the same server as the opt-dedup folder (on Server 2). However, the scenario must support a full recovery, even if the CASO is completely destroyed. Can BE rebuild the catalog from the Server 2 data?
This seems to be indicated when it says "You must inventory and catalog the media on the destination server before you recover any files from the duplicated backup set. You must do this regardless of how the catalog sharing option is configured for CASO." (http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=HOWTO23342). (Or does this apply to OpenStorage only?)
Thanks so much in advance.