Novell EDIRECTORY 8.8 SP3, Administration Manual, Page: 573 / 634

Maintaining Novell eDirectory 573
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18.9.2 Planned Replacement of a Server
The following instructions are designed for situations where a server is actually replaced by moving
the server's eDirectory identity and file system data onto a different machine. For naming purposes
in these instructions, the old server is referred to as Server A, and its replacement is referred to as
Server B.
You prepare by doing a cold backup (a backup done while the database is closed) of eDirectory
using the Backup eMTool, as well as a file system backup using your tool of choice. This backup
information lets you use the restore process to re-create the server on the new machine.
For the eDirectory cold backup, you must use the options to lock and disable eDirectory on Server
A, preventing any data change after the backup is made. To other servers that communicate with this
server, the server appears to be down. Any eDirectory information that is normally sent to the server
is stored by other servers in the tree until they can communicate with the server again. The stored
information is used to synchronize the server when you bring it back online on the new machine,
Server B.
NOTE: Because other servers in the eDirectory tree expect the server to come back online quickly,
you should complete the change and restore eDirectory information on the server as soon as
possible.
Follow these general steps to replace a server:
1. To reduce down time for Server A while you are replacing it, it's best to prepare Server B as
much as possible before you begin the replacement, by installing the operating system, etc., as
described in
“1. Preparing for a Server Replacement” on page 573 .
2. Do the eDirectory and file system backups on Server A as described in “2. Creating a Backup
of eDirectory” on page 574 .
3. Transfer the information to Server B as described in “3. Restoring eDirectory Information for a
Server Replacement” on page 574 .
1. Preparing for a Server Replacement
Use the following checklists for Server A and Server B to determine whether you are ready to
replace Server A. Preparing Server B before proceeding will reduce the time the server is down
while you transfer from one machine to the other.
Preparation for Server A
‰
Make sure that Server A has the latest version of the operating system installed.
‰
Make sure the tree for Server A is healthy by running DSRepair on the server that holds the
master of the Tree partition and by running time synchronization.
‰
Run DSRepair on the database of Server A. Ensure that Server A is synchronized completely.
Preparation for Server B
‰
Install the latest version of the operating system. This must be the same operating system as
Server A.
‰
Install eDirectory, putting Server B in a new temporary tree.