DS Design, Replication and Partition Strategy

(Last modified: 18Feb2003)

This document (10014937) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

goal

fact

Novell NetWare 4.10

Novell NetWare 4.11

Novell NetWare 5.0

Formerly TID 2946878

fix

***This Document was created to assist with Tree Design, Replication and Partition Strategy***

Novell Tech Support specializes in troubleshooting and fixing problems, not consulting. After reading this document, if you wish further assistance please contact Novell Consulting at: 1-801-861-7028

There are two 3rd party utilities that I have found and used that may help you design, re-design and troubleshoot existing trees. They are: DS Designer and DS Expert

-----------------------------------------------DS DESIGNER-----------------------------------------------
DS Designer can be downloaded from http://www.netwarefiles.com

-----Description-----
DS Designer is a windows utility that allows you to see your tree in a nice, easy-to-manage window. You can :
1. COMPLETELY document your entire tree within a matter of minutes. ALL servers with their accompanying IPX or TCPIP addresses, ALL partitions, ALL replicas, etc.
2. Plan ahead for future tree merges, partition merges, partition creations, replication, moves, etc, and document ALL changes BEFORE they happen. 3. Create IMPRESSIVE reports for existing trees and PROPOSED tree designs. You'll be able to SEE the results accurately and precisely BEFORE executing the changes!!!! This allows you to use the DSDIAG.NLM and import that info into dsdesigner.

----Help for DS Designer----

Novell, Inc. has absolutely no affiliation, relation, or endorsement with DS Designer in any way, shape, or form.

Introduction :
DS DESIGNER simulates a live Directory Services Tree. Partition operations, replication, and object manipulation
are simulated EXACTLY how they would be executed on a live network. Therefore, ALL design can be verified, modified,
and revised perfectly BEFORE changing a live network. Included are some comments on what certain operations do.

DS DESIGNER removes and places SUBREFS where they SHOULD or SHOULDN'T be.

Definitions :
Partition : A "piece" of the DS database. A partition can only be created on a container object (Country, Organization,
Organizational Unit). Whenever a partition is created, all objects that are descendants of the container object where
the partition was created are in this "piece" of the database. If partitioning is done strategically, synchronization between servers can be minimized. Partitioning should be done geographically.

Replica : A copy of a partition. There are four types. Master, Read/Write, Read/Only, and Subordinate Reference.

*Master replicas are readable/writeable copies. They control all partition operations. (Moves, joins, merges, change type, etc)

*Read/Write replicas are readable/writeable copies.

*Read/Only replicas are readable copies, not writeable. They are rarely used.

*Subordinate Reference replicas are placed automatically by NetWare. The only control that the user has on the placement of SUBREFS comes from the tree design. See ADD REPLICA.

CREATE OBJECT
This operation will simply create an object. If the object being created is a server, the partition in which the creation is being executed will be queried for the number of REAL ( Read/Write, Read/Only, or Master) replicas that exist for it. If there are less than three, the server being created will receive a Read/Write of that partition.

CREATE PARTITION
This operation will create a new partition on the selected container object. Upon the creation, ALL servers that have REAL replicas, of the parent partition will receive the same replica type of the newly created partition.

MERGE PARTITION
This operation will merge or join the child partition into the parent. All servers that have a REAL replica of the child partition will get the same type of the parent. NOTE : DS will actually create a Read/Only replica on any server that has a Subordinate Reference of either partitions involved in the merge. If the merge is successful, the Read/Only will be changed to the appropriate type.

ADD REPLICA
This operation will allow a replica to be added onto a server specified by the user. If the replica is added to a server that does not have a copy of the child partition, it will receive a Subordinate Reference by default of the child partition.

MERGE TREE
This operation will allow the merging of trees. The tree view that is currently opened in DS Designer will be the target tree. The tree that is selected in the Open File Dialog Box will be the source tree. I.E. the tree selected will be merged into the tree currently loaded in DS Designer. During a tree merge, the following occurs :

1. The source tree's Organization and/or Country objects are scanned and are compared with the target tree's Organization and/or Country objects. If there are any naming conflicts, the merge fails. If not step 2 is executed.

2. The source tree's server objects are compared with the target tree's server objects. If there are any naming conflicts, the merge fails. If not, step 3 is executed. NOTE : On a live network, you would get errors regarding servers with the same name and/or same network address.

3. On the SOURCE TREE, the server that has the Master replica of [Root] will receive a Read Write of [Root]. All other servers that had a real Replica of Root will lose it.

4. On the SOURCE TREE, any Organization or Country that is NOT a partition will be created as such and the Master replica of the new partition will be stored on the server that had the Master or [Root].

5. The merge is executed.

MOVING OBJECTS
Moves an object from one context to another by dragging and dropping. Containment rules must be maintained or the move will be unsuccessful. The containment rules are as follows :
  [Root] : Country, Organization
  Country : Organization
  Organization : Organizational Unit, Server
  Organizational Unit : Organizational Unit, Server

If any container object is being moved, it must be a partition. Container objects cannot be moved to a container that is a descendent of it.

CHANGE TYPE
This operation will change the replica to what is specified. If a Read Write is changed to a Master, the server that previously had the Master will be changed to a Read Write. Subordinate References and Masters are not changeable.

IMPORT REPLICA RING REPORT
DSDIAG.NLM is a NOVELL NLM. It can be found on Novell's web site in the file DSDIAG.EXE for 4.x servers. It ships with NetWare 5.0.

Certain Options have to be configured for the report to be generated.

1. LOAD DSDIAG
2. Select "Preferences"
3. Select "Manage Naming Conventions"
4. Change "Delimiter Set" to "SLASH"
5. Change "BASE DN" to "\"

To generate the REPLICA RING report, do the following :
1. Select "Generate Reports"
2. Select "List Replica Rings"
3. Make sure the following screen has these options :

  Retrieve Partition Roots Using : NDS
  Search Context : \<TREENAME, slash has to lead it>
  Type : Readable
  Depth: Subtree
  Retrieve Replica Ring From : Single
  Report File : Enabled

To Enable Report File, do the following :

1. Press enter on Report File
2. A screen labeled "Report File Options" will appear.
3. Press Enter
4. Make sure the next screen has the following :

Report File : Enabled
Current File Size : XXXXX
File Name : XXXXXXXXXXX.RPT
File : Overwrite
File Format : Report

Hit F10 to generate the report. DS Designer can import the data in this report and build a tree view from it.

IMPORT DS VERSION REPORT
This uses DSDIAG.NLM's "Check NDS Version" report. Import the Replica Ring Report before importing the DS Version Report.

1. Configure DSDIAG with the "\" delimiter as previously explained.
2. Select "Generate Reports"
3. Retrieve Using : NDS
4. Search Context : \TREENAME
5. Type : READABLE
6. Depth : Subtree
7. Press F8.
8. Selected Addresses : ENABLED
9. Select IPX and TCP. (Ds Designer only searches for these 2 protocols)
10. Press F7 to return to report menu.
11. Enable Reports as previously explained.
12. Run Report.

Import the DS Version Report into the current tree design. If the Replica Ring report was imported first, then all servers will match up with their respective
IPX and TCPIP addresses. If this is done out of sequence, the results are meaningless.

IMPORT PARTITION REPORT
This uses DSDIAG's "Server's Partition Table" report option. The Replica Ring Report and DS Version Report should be run before this one. If the report does not correspond to the design you're importing it into the results are meaningless.

This report is useful because it reads the Partition Table off of every server in the tree. This is the information that you see in DSREPAIR "Replicas Stored On This Server." This is a different area of the NDS database that SHOULD correspond to the Replica Ring. IF IT IS INCONSISTENT, you can find it using this option with DS Designer.

PRINTING
The printing function for the Partition Grid View works with MOST printers, but can vary with other drivers and/or printers. If the printing of the Grid does not work, the info can be saved out to a delimited file.

SCHEMA DISTRIBUTION REPORT
This report generates every server's Schema Distribution List. i.e. all target servers that the source servers synchronizes its schema to. The Schema Synch Process uses the "trickle down" algorithm. Servers holding replicas at higher replica depths synch the schema down do those servers with a lower depth or deeper replica. Root replicas have replica of depth of 0. So a server with a replica of OU=XXX.OU=XXX.O=XXX would have a DEEPER replica of depth 3. The higher the number, the LOWER the depth.

-----------------------------------------------DS EXPERT-----------------------------------------------
DS Expert can be downloaded from http://www.netpro.com

----Description----

DS Expert ensures access to business-critical resources by constantly monitoring the directory and alerting administrators to problems that can cause service interruptions.. No more calls from users who can't log in or access a printer because the replication process failed. And no more agonizing hours spent searching for the source of a network outage that started in the directory. DS Expert watches everything from replication latency issues to synchronization errors that can impact the integrity of the directory and prevent user access to vital network services.

By monitoring the directory and alerting on problems, DS Expert eliminates the need to manually check the state of the directory prior to adding users or performing configuration changes. You won't have to periodically check the health of your directory for time sync errors or replica and partition synchronization problems. DS Expert monitors Novell Directory Services (NDS) for replication processes, server availability, and time synchronization conditions that are critical to the health of the directory. And it alerts you to problems when they occur, so you don't have to go searching for the source of the problems when it's too late.

-----------------------------------------------Novell Comments-----------------------------------------------

DS Designer is good for Tree Design, however you should follow Novell recommendations outlined in Solution NDS Tree Design 4.0.31605708.2288499 [no longer available]along with the recommendations given in DS Designer.

DS Expert will give some of the same recommendations as DS Designer, but it doe's not let you manipulate the tree off line, it is good for making you aware of existing problems on the live production Tree..

document

Document Title:	DS Design, Replication and Partition Strategy
Document ID:	10014937
Solution ID:	4.0.31605721.2288499
Creation Date:	23Aug1999
Modified Date:	18Feb2003
Novell Product Class:	Groupware NetWare Novell eDirectory

disclaimer

The Origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell. Novell makes all reasonable efforts to verify this information. However, the information provided in this document is for your information only. Novell makes no explicit or implied claims to the validity of this information.
Any trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Consult your product manuals for complete trademark information.