5.5 Partitions and Replicas

Partition and replica operations let you manage eDirectory’s physical design and distribution across your directory servers, and includes the following tasks:

For information about partitions and replicas, see the NetIQ eDirectory 9.0 Administration Guide.

5.5.1 Creating a Partition

Partitions create logical divisions of the eDirectory tree. For example, if you choose an Organizational Unit and create it as a new partition, you split the Organizational Unit and all of its subordinate objects from its parent partition. The Organizational Unit you choose becomes the root of a new partition. The replicas of the new partition exist on the same servers as the replicas of the parent, and objects in the new partition belong to the new partition’s root object.

  1. In Roles and Tasks, select Partitions and Replicas > Create Partition.

  2. In the Create Partition page, specify the container to use as the root of the new partition, or use the Object Selector to locate it, then click OK.

    A confirmation message appears indicating that the partition create operation was successful.

5.5.2 Merging a Partition

Merging a partition effectively recombines it with its parent partition. Creating and merging partitions is how you determine how the directory is logically divided.

  1. In Roles and Tasks, select Partitions and Replicas > Merge Partition.

  2. In the Merge Partition page, specify the partition to merge with its parent, or use the Object Selector to locate it, then click OK.

    To specify a partition, specify the Container object that acts as the partition root.

    A confirmation message appears indicating that the partition create operation was successful.

5.5.3 Moving a Partition

Moving a partition lets you move a subtree in your directory tree. This is also known as a prune and graft operation. You can only move partitions that have no subordinate partitions. If subordinate partitions exist, you must first merge those partitions before performing the move operation.

When you move a partition, eDirectory changes all references to the partition Root object. Although the object’s common name remains unchanged, the complete name of the container (and of all its subordinates) changes.

NOTE:When you move a partition, you must follow eDirectory containment rules. For example, you cannot move an Organizational Unit directly under the root of the directory tree, because the root’s containment rules permit only Locality, Country, or Organization objects, but not Organizational Unit objects.

  1. In Roles and Tasks, select Partitions and Replicas > Merge Partition.

  2. In the Move partition page, specify the required information, then click OK.

    • The Object name field specifies the partition to move, or use the Object Selector to locate i

    • The Move to field specifies the Container object into which you want to move the specified partition.

    • The Create an alias in place of moved object creates a pointer to the partition’s new location. This allows any operations that are dependent on the old location to continue uninterrupted until you can update those operations to reflect the new location. Users can continue to log in to the network and find objects in the original directory location.

WARNING:Make sure your directory tree is synchronizing correctly before you move a partition. If you have any errors in synchronization in either the partition you want to move or the destination partition, do not perform a move partition operation. First, fix the synchronization errors. After moving the partition, if you don’t want the partition to remain a partition, merge it with its parent partition.

5.5.4 Viewing Replica Information

Viewing a replica tells you about its current state. An eDirectory replica can be in various states depending on the partition or replication operations it is undergoing.

  1. In Roles and Tasks, click Partitions and Replicas > Replica View.

  2. In the Replica View page, specify the partition or server whose replica table you want to view, then click OK.

    A table appears listing the replica Partition, Type, Filter, and State. For information about replica states, see the NetIQ eDirectory 9.0 Administration Guide.

5.5.5 Viewing Partition Information

  1. In Roles and Tasks, select Partitions and Replicas > View Partition Information.

  2. In the Partition Information page, specify the partition for which you want to view information, then click OK.

    To specify a partition, specify the Container object that acts as the partition root.

5.5.6 Using the Filtered Replica Wizard

Filtered replicas maintain a filtered subset of information from an eDirectory partition (objects or object classes along with a filtered set of attributes and values for those objects). The Filtered Replica Wizard steps you through the configuration of the filtered replicas on the selected server.

  1. In Roles and Tasks, select Partitions and Replicas > Filtered Replica Wizard.

  2. Specify the name and context of the server on which you want to configure a filtered replica, or use the Object Selector to find it, then click Next.

  3. Click Define the Filter Set to specify the classes and attributes for a filter set on the selected server, then click Next.

    The replication filter contains the set of eDirectory classes and attributes you want to host on this server’s set of filtered replicas.

  4. Click Finish.

For more information about filtered replicas, see the NetIQ eDirectory 9.0 Administration Guide.