Performance comparison of the LCG2 and gLite file catalogues

When the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) begins operation at CERN in 2007 it will produce data in volumes never before seen. The LHC Computing Grid will provide the middleware necessary to distribute and analyse petabytes of this data. One of the critical factors in the smooth running of this system is the performance of the file catalogues which translate logical filenames into physical locations. We present a detailed study comparing the LCG project's catalogue with the gLite FiReMan catalogue developed in the EGEE project, covering performance and respective merits and shortcomings.