Cleaning Up the Replica Ring

This procedure explains how to

• Reassign master replicas. If the failed server holds a master replica of any partition, you must use DSRepair to designate a new master replica on a different server in the replica list.

• Remove replica list references to the failed server. Each server participating in replica rings that included the failed server must be told that the failed server is no longer available.

Prerequisites

• eDirectory is installed on the machine where you are trying to restore the failed server.
• A restore was attempted, and the restore verification failed.
• The NDS database is open and running, and the database named RST is still on the machine (left there by the restore process).
• You know which replicated partitions were stored on the failed server. The replicas this server held are listed in the header of the backup file.

Procedure

To clean up the replica ring:

1. At the console of one of the servers that shared a replica with the failed server, load DSRepair with the switch that lets you access the advanced options.

   • NetWare and Windows: Use the -a switch.
   • UNIX: Use the -Ad switch.

   For more information on how to run DSRepair with advanced options using the -a or -Ad switches, see Advanced DSRepair Options.

   WARNING:  If you use DSRepair with -a or -Ad, some of the advanced options can cause damage to your tree. For more information on these options, refer to the Novell Support Web site, Solution 2938493.

2. Select Replica and Partition Operations.

3. Select the partition you want to edit, so you can remove the failed server from the replica ring of that partition.

4. Select View Replica Ring to see a list of servers that have replicas of the partition.

5. (Conditional) If the failed server held the master replica, select another server to hold the master by selecting Designate This Server As the New Master Replica.

   The replica ring now has a new master replica. All replicas participating in the ring are notified that there is a new master.

6. Wait for the master replica to be established. Make sure the other servers in the ring acknowledge the change before proceeding.

7. Go back to View Replica Ring. Select the name of the failed server, then select Remove This Server from the Replica Ring.

   If you have not loaded DSRepair with -a or -Ad (depending on the platform) for advanced options, you will not see this option in the list.

   WARNING:  Make sure you do not do this if the failed server is designated as the master replica. You can see this information in the list of servers in the ring. If it is the master, designate a different server as the master as noted in Step 5. Then, come back to this step and remove the failed server from the replica ring.

8. Log in as Admin.

9. After reading the explanation message, enter your agreement to continue.

10. Exit DSRepair.

    All servers participating in that replica ring are notified.

11. Repeat this procedure on one server for each replica ring that the failed server participated in.

To finish preparing the failed server to get new copies of the replicas, continue with the next procedure, Repair the Failed Server and Readd Replicas to the Server.

Repair the Failed Server and Readd Replicas to the Server

This procedure lets you change the replica information on the server to external references, so that the server does not consider itself to be part of a replica ring. After you remove the replicas from the server in this way, you can unlock the database.

After removing the replicas, you complete the procedure by readding the replicas to the server. This way, the server receives a new, up-to-date copy of each replica. When each replica has been readded, the server should function as it did before the failure.

To remove replicas using DSRepair, and re-add them using replication:

1. Make sure you have completed Cleaning Up the Replica Ring.

2. Override the restore on the server using the advanced restore option in the eMBox Client.

   1. Run the eMBox Client in interactive mode:

      • NetWare and UNIX: At the command line, enter
        edirutil -i.
      • Windows: Run
        drive\novell\nds\edirutil.exe -i

      The edirutil file gives you a shortcut to running the eMBox Client. It points to the Java executable and the default location where the eMBox Client is installed with eDirectory, and for NetWare, it includes the necessary -ns option. (You can also enter the information manually, as described in Running the eMBox Client on a Workstation.)

      When the eMBox Client opens, the eMBox Client prompt appears: eMBox Client>

   2. Log in to the server you want to restore by entering

      login -s server_name_or_IP_address -p port_number -u username.context -w password

      For example, on Windows enter

      login -s 151.155.111.1 -p 8008 -u admin.mycompany -w mypassword

      If you get an error that says a secure connection cannot be established, check your machine for the JSSE files listed in Establishing a Secure Connection with the eMBox Client.

      For help finding out which port number to use, see Finding Out eDirectory Port Numbers.

      The eMBox Client indicates whether the login is successful.

   3. Specify the advanced restore option to override the restore, then specify a log filename:

      restadv -v -l logfilename

      This advanced restore option will rename the RST database (the database that was restored but failed the verification) to NDS, but keep the database locked.

3. At the server console, change all the replica information on the server into external references using advanced options in DSRepair.

   • NetWare: Enter dsrepair -XK2 -rd
   • Windows: Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Novell eDirectory Services. Select dsrepair.dlm. In the Startup Parameters field, type -XK2 -rd. Click Start.
   • UNIX: Enter ndsrepair -R -Ad -xk2

   The -rd or -R switch repairs the local database and the replica.

   WARNING:  If used incorrectly, DSRepair advanced options can cause damage to your tree. For more information on these options, refer to the Novell Support Web site, Solution 2938493.

4. When the repair is finished, remove the lockout and open the database using the following advanced restore options in the eMBox Client:

   restadv -o -k -l logfilename

   The -o opens the database and the -k removes the lockout.

5. Use iManager to add the server back into the replica ring:

   1. In Novell iManager, click the Roles and Tasks button .

   2. Click Partition and Replicas > Replica View.

   3. Specify the name and context of the partition you want to replicate, then click OK.

   4. Click Add Replica.

   5. Next to the Server Name field, click the Browse button , then select the server you just restored.

   6. Select the type of replica you want, click OK, then click Done.

   7. Repeat these steps for each replica ring that the server was participating in.

6. Wait for the replication process to complete.

   The replication process is complete when the state of the replicas changes from New to On. You can check the state in iManager. See Viewing Information about a Replica for more information.

7. (Conditional) If you want to use roll-forward logging on this server, you must re-create your configuration for roll-forward logging to make sure it is turned on and the logs are being saved in a fault-tolerant location. After turning on the roll-forward logs, you must also do a new full backup.

   This step is necessary because during a restore, the configuration for roll-forward logging is set back to the default, which means that roll-forward logging is turned off and the location is set back to the default. The new full backup is necessary so that you are prepared for any failures that might occur before the next unattended full backup is scheduled to take place.

   For more information about roll-forward logs and their location, see Using Roll-Forward Logs.