Defining A Replication Strategy - Netscape DIRECTORY SERVER 6.1 - DEPLOYMENT Deployment Manual

Defining a Replication Strategy

The replication strategy that you define is determined by the service you want to
provide:
• If high availability is your primary concern, you should create a data center
with multiple directory servers on a single site. You can use single-master
replication to provide read-failover, and multi-master replication to provide
write-failover. How to configure replication for high availability is described in
"Using Replication for High Availability," on page 119.
• If local availability is your primary concern, you should use replication to
geographically distribute data to directory servers in local offices around the
world. You can decide to hold a master copy of all information in a single
location, such as the company headquarters, or to let local sites manage the
parts of the DIT that are relevant for them. The type of replication
configuration to set up is described in "Using Replication for Local
Availability," on page 120.
• In all cases, you probably want to balance the load of requests serviced by your
directory servers, and avoid network congestion. Strategies for load balancing
your directory servers and your network are provided in "Using Replication
for Load Balancing," on page 120.
To determine your replication strategy, start by performing a survey of your
network, your users, your applications, and how they use the directory service you
can provide. For guidelines on performing this survey, refer to the following
section, "Replication Survey."
Once you understand your replication strategy, you can start deploying your
directory. This is a case where deploying your service in stages will pay large
dividends. By placing your directory into production in stages, you can get a better
sense of the loads that your enterprise places on your directory. Unless you can
base your load analysis on an already operating directory, be prepared to alter
your directory as you develop a better understanding on how your directory is
used.
The following sections describe in more detail the factors affecting your replication
strategy:
• Replication Survey
• Replication Resource Requirements
• Using Replication for High Availability
• Using Replication for Local Availability
Defining a Replication Strategy
Chapter 6 Designing the Replication Process 117