NDS Partitioning

NDS Partitioning splits the NDS tree into sections, and is outlined along the boundaries of container objects.

A partition is named by its top container, referred to as the partition root.

A parent is referred to as the partition directly above another partition. A child is referred to as the partition below another partition.

Replica Types

Master

The main copy of a partition. Only one master replica is allowed per partition. Receives update requests from Read/Write partitions, and pushes synchronization updates to all other partition types.

Partitions should not span WAN locations. NDS synchronization will saturate WAN bandwidth.

A partition should never exceed 5,000 objects. A partition should typically contain less than 1,500 objects.

It is recommended to have less than 10 replicas of a partition, and 7-10 replicas on a given server.

Top layers of the tree should be partitioned according to location. Bottom layers should be partitioned only in unique situations.

When merging directory trees, the specified servers must contain the master replica for the tree's root partition.

When moving a container, it must be the root of the partition, and not contain any subordinate references.

For fault tolerance, every partition should be replicated at least three times.

Time Servers

Single Reference	Server is setup as the sole time provider. Is typically synchronized with an external time source. It cannot coexist with other primary reference or primary servers.
Reference	Is typically synchronized with an external time source. Must have at least two primary servers. Will not adjust its internal clock.
Primary	Receives time from a reference server. Talks with other primary servers to vote on the correct time. If there is no reference server, you must have at least one other primary server. Will use synchronization flag if a time descrepancy is discovered.
Secondary	Receives time from any of the other three time servers.

By default, time servers use SAP to announce time synchronization statuses. This will cause network traffic.

Custom time configuration can be implemented to designated addresses of servers, thus eliminating SAP broadcasts which cause network traffic. If a server's address changes, you will need to change the time configuration on every server which references the server that had its address changed. Custom time configuration is implemented in the TIMESYNC.CFG file.

Never have more than seven primary and reference servers per time group.

Before bringing a server up, first check the DOS clock to make sure it is correct. Once the server is up, check the NetWare time every 2-3 minutes to make sure the time is staying correct.

When a time server's clock is incorrect, the other time servers will slow/quicken their clock's pace while the original server slows/quickens its clock pace, until they converge in the middle.

Sythetic time stamps are used when the time on a server is changed, and no longer matches the partition's time stamp. They are issued to objects to prevent them from being stamped incorrectly.

NDS Tasks

Synchronize immediately	Forces immediate synchronization of the servers in the replica list.
Receive update	Removes replica on a specific server, and replaces it with a copy of the master replica.
Send update	Forces server to be synchronized immediately.
Verify remote server IDs	Confirms and corrects replica lists and server IDs for all replicas held by the selected server.
Repair replica	Confirms and corrects replica lists and server IDs for the selected replica.
Repair network addresses	Corrects network address inconsistencies. Used to fix -625 errors.
Repair local database	Confirms and corrects replica lists and server IDs for all replicas held by the selected server.
Assign new master	Converts a Read/Write replica to a Master replica.
Remove server	Removes server from a replica list.
Repair volume objects	Confirms and repairs NDS and Volume objects.
Delete server	Deletes a server from the directory tree.

To update server NDS versions, in the NDS Manager, click the Version menu, then Update.

When repairing NDS:
- Let the server run for a couple of hours. The system may correct itself.
- Do not perform partition utilities with a partition that is having problems. This may only spread the problems.
- Do not take the server down. The server will be unable to perform synchronizations to correct the errors.

Check partition continuity to view any possible errors with partitions and replicas.

From the server console, type SET DSTRACE=ON to allow you to see replications take place. This will also display any errors with replications and synchronizations as they take place.

To restore a server that lost its SYS: volume:
1) In NDS Manager, find a server that contains a Read or Read/Write replica of the dead server. Change this replica to be the Master replica by clicking Assign new master.
2) Bring up the newly repaired server.
3) Load NetWare
4) In NDS Manager, highlight the repaired server, and click Receive partition.
5) Restore data from tape backup.

From the server console, you will need to type SET BINDERY CONTEXT = contextname. To make the change happen immediately, use the MONITOR or SERVMAN utiliies.

Bindery login scripts must be maintained using SYSCON.

NetSync is used to copy the binderies of multiple NetWare 3.x serves into the NDS container of a NetWare 4.x server.

NetSync copies users and groups from the NW3 servers into the first available bindery context on the NW4 server.

Each NetWare server can hold the bindery contexts for up to 12 NW3 servers with NetSync. Each configuration of a NW4 server running NetSync services with NW3 servers is called a NetSync cluster.

Printing changes that automatically occur with NetSync:
- Print utilities are changed from NW3 to NW4
- Databases for PRINTCON adn PRINTDEF are upgraded to NW4.

NW3 print servers can be merged with a single print server on the NW4 server. Existing print queues will appear the same, but will be serviced by the NW4 server.

Garbage collection - Recovers used blocks of memory and returns them to the allocation pool. SET commands can be used to optimize garbage collection.

MONITOR.NLM is used to track memory performance.

The general information screen contains the following statistics:

Utilization	Percentage showing processor utilization.
Original cache buffers	Number of cache buffers available for the system.
Total cache buffers	Number of buffers currently available for caching.
Dirty cache buffers	Number of buffers containing information that is waiting to be written to disk.
Current disk requests	Number of disk requests waiting to be serviced.
Packet receive buffers	Number of buffers available to receive network data packets.
Directory cache buffers	Number of buffers allocated for directory caching.

If, in the cache utilization screen, long-term cache hits is below 90%, add more RAM.

Right and Read Cache paramaters can be set with SERVMAN or SET.

Block suballocation is enabled by default, and can be disabled during installation with a custom install. Once the server has been installed, it cannot be disabled without recreating the volume.

File compression can be enabled to free up disk space. Files will not be compressed unless they can be compressed with a minimum of a 2% gain. Settings are controller using SERVMAN and SET.

To change SET paramaters and have them take effect immediately, use SERVMAN or MONITOR.

LCONFIG.SYS is used to change the formats for expressing time, dates, and numbers.

To set a desired language, place the corresponding SERVER.MSG file in the NetWare server boot directory and run SERVER.EXE.

To change your keyboard type, load KEYB.NLM.

NetWare Multi-Protocol Router connects dissimilar media and frame types, and is used to route network packets from one subnet to another. MPR is installed through INSTALL.NLM.