The Directory Server Access Control Model
Understanding the Directory Server Schema
Understanding Directory Server Plug-Ins
Overview of the Directory Server Replication Architecture
Basic Replication Architecture
Directory Server Change Processing
Historical Information and Conflict Resolution
What is a Replication Conflict?
Purging Historical Information
Schema Replication Architecture
Replication Status Definitions
Full Update Status and Bad Generation ID Status
Replication Groups in a Multi-Data Center Deployment
Safe Read Mode and Replication Groups
Assured Replication and Replication Status
Assured Replication Monitoring
In implementing the scenarios described in the previous sections, a directory server in a topology uses the following algorithm to select the replication server to which that directory server should connect:
Connect to each replication server in the list of configured replication servers and obtain its server state and group ID.
From the list of replication servers that are up to date with the changes on the directory server, and that have same group ID as the directory server, select the one that has the most updates from other directory servers in the topology. If no replication server exists with the same group ID as the directory server, select the replication server that is most up to date.
This algorithm ensures that a higher priority is given to replication servers with the same group ID as the directory server's group ID. A directory server will therefore favor a replication server located in its own data center.
Connecting to a replication server with the same group ID (in the same data center) provides the safe read mode functionality. Connecting to a replication server with a different group ID provides failover to another data center (if all the replication servers in the local data center fail). In this case, safe read mode is disabled as no acknowledgment is requested when sending update messages to replication servers with a different group ID. Replication continues, but in degraded mode (that is, the safe read mode requested at configuration time is not applied.)
To return replication to normal, a directory server periodically polls the configuration list for the arrival of replication servers with the same group ID as its own. If the directory server detects that a replication server with its own group ID is available, it disconnects from the current replication server (with a different group ID), and reconnects to the recovered replication server with the same group ID. Safe read mode is thus re-enabled and replication returns to the mode in which it was configured.