Partitions are logical divisions of the Novell® eDirectory™ database that form a distinct unit of data in the eDirectory tree for administrators to store and replicate eDirectory information. Each partition consists of a container object, all objects contained in it, and the information about those objects. Partitions do not include any information about the file system or the directories and files contained there.
Instead of storing a copy of the entire eDirectory database on each server, you can make a copy of the eDirectory partition and store it on many servers across the network. Each copy of the partition is known as a replica. You can create any number of replicas for each eDirectory partition and store them on any server. The types of replicas include master, read/write, read-only, subordinate references, filtered read/write, and filtered read-only.
The following table describes the replica types.
This chapter describes how to manage partitions and replicas.