Unit Of Replication; Replication Identity - Netscape DIRECTORY SERVER 6.2 - ADMINISTRATOR Administrator's Manual

Replication Overview

Unit of Replication

In Directory Server, the smallest unit of replication is a database. This means that
you can replicate an entire database, but not a subtree within a database. Therefore,
when you create your directory tree, you must take your replication plans into
consideration. For more information on how to set up your directory tree, refer to
Netscape Directory Server Deployment Guide.
The replication mechanism also requires that one database correspond to one
suffix. This means that you cannot replicate a suffix (or namespace) that is
distributed over two or more databases using custom distribution logic. For more
information on this topic, refer to "Creating and Maintaining Databases" on page
90.

Replication Identity

When replication occurs between two servers, the replication process uses a special
entry, often referred to as the Replication Manager entry, to identify replication
protocol exchanges. The Replication Manager entry, or any entry you create to
fulfill that role, must meet the following criteria:
• It is created on the consumer server (or hub supplier) and not on the supplier
server.
• You must create this entry on every server that receives updates from another
server, that is, on every hub supplier or a dedicated consumer.
• When you configure a replica that receives updates from another server, you
must specify this entry as the one authorized to perform replication updates.
• When you configure the replication agreement on the supplier server, you
must specify the DN of this entry in the replication agreement.
• This entry must not be part of the replicated database for security reasons.
• This entry, with its special user profile, bypasses all access control rules
defined on the consumer server.
NOTE
288 Netscape Directory Server Administrator's Guide • December 2003
In the Directory Server Console, this Replication Manager entry is
referred to as the supplier bind DN, which may be misleading as the
entry does not actually exist on the supplier server. It is called the
supplier bind DN because it is the entry which must be present on
the consumer for the supplier to be able to bind to the consumer.