Understanding the following concepts can help you make decisions as you install eDirectory on the various platforms:
Hardware requirements depend on the specific implementation of eDirectory.
For example, a base installation of eDirectory with the standard schema requires about 74 MB of disk space for every 50,000 users. However, if you add a new set of attributes or completely fill in every existing attribute, the object size grows. These additions require more disk space and memory.
Two factors increase performance: more cache memory and faster processors.
For best results, cache as much of the DIB Set as the hardware allows. See Distributing Memory between Entry and Block Caches.
eDirectory scales well on a single processor. However, eDirectory 8.7.1 takes advantage of multiple processors. Adding processors improves performance in some areas---for example, logins and having multiple threads active on multiple processors. eDirectory itself is not processor intensive, but it is I/O intensive.
The following tables illustrate typical system recommendations for eDirectory.
| Objects | Processor | Memory | Hard Disk |
|---|---|---|---|
100,000 |
Pentium* III 450-700 MHz (single) |
384 MB |
144 MB |
1 million |
Pentium III 450-700 MHz (dual) |
2 GB |
1.5 GB |
10 million |
Pentium III 450-700 MHz (2 to 4) |
2+ GB |
15 GB |
| Objects | Processor | Memory | Hard Disk |
|---|---|---|---|
100,000 |
Sun* Enterprise 220 |
384 MB |
144 MB |
1 million |
Sun Enterprise 450 |
2 GB |
1.5 GB |
10 million |
Sun Enterprise 4500 with multiple processors |
2+ GB |
15 GB |
| Objects | Processor | Memory | Hard Disk |
|---|---|---|---|
100,000 |
RS/6000 |
384 MB |
144 MB |
1 million |
RS/6000 |
2 GB |
1.5 GB |
10 million |
RS/6000 |
2+ GB |
15 GB |
| Objects | Processor | Memory | Hard Disk |
|---|---|---|---|
100,000 |
PA-RISC 2.0 |
384 MB |
144 MB |
1 million |
PA-RISC 2.0 |
2 GB |
1.5 GB |
10 million |
PA-RISC 2.0 |
2+ GB |
15 GB |
Requirements for processors might be greater than the tables indicate, depending upon additional services available on the computer, as well as the number of authentications, reads, and writes that the computer is handling. Processes such as encryption and indexing can be processor intensive.
Of course, faster processors improve performance. Additional memory improves performance because eDirectory will then cache more of the directory into memory.
Because the internal eDirectory identifiers change when upgrading to Novell eDirectory, the backlink process must update backlinked objects for them to be consistent.
Backlinks keep track of external references to objects on other servers. For each external reference on a server, the backlink process ensures that the real object exists in the correct location and verifies all backlink attributes on the master of the replica. The backlink process occurs two hours after the database is open and then every 780 minutes (13 hours). The interval is configurable from 2 minutes to 10,080 minutes (7 days).
After migrating to eDirectory on NetWare and Windows, we recommend that you force the backlink to run by issuing a SET DSTRACE=*B command from the server console.
After migrating to eDirectory on UNIX*, start the ndstrace process by issuing the ndstrace -l>log& command, which runs the process at the background. You can force the backlink to run by issuing the ndstrace -c set ndstrace=*B command from the ndstrace command prompt. Then you can unload the ndstrace process by issuing the ndstrace -u command.
Running the backlink process is especially important on servers that do not contain a replica.
The eDirectory install uses Java* 1.3. This means that a minimum color depth of 8 bits (256 colors) is required by your video card and driver setting to run the installations properly. On NetWare, the video card must also be VESA-compliant.
With some video cards, and with some driver versions, you might notice some visual abnormalities with the installation screens. Examples include a pastel color scheme and a strange mottling effect that might look like the resolution is much lower than the actual setting. Some installation screens will not display at all. This makes it appear that the installation is hung, or that it has aborted. If you see that the installation screens do not appear correctly, download a newer version of the driver for your video card. Otherwise, the installation might not complete successfully.
With some video cards, when 256 colors are set, the installation screen might seem to disappear after the SNMP portion of the installation even though install.exe and launch.exe are still running (as shown in the Windows Task Manager). If this happens, use Task Manager to terminate the launch.exe process, set your display to more than 256 colors, then rerun the installation. This will perform an upgrade installation over the top of the existing installation, and the upgrade should complete successfully.