5.3 Using Multiple Instances

eDirectory 8.8 makes it very easy for you to configure multiple instances. To effectively use multiple instances, you need to plan the setup and then configure the multiple instances.

5.3.1 Planning the Setup

To use this feature effectively, we recommend that you plan the eDirectory instances and ensure that each instance has definite instance identifiers like the hostname, port number, server name, or the configuration file.

While configuring multiple instances, you need to ensure that you have planned for the following:

  • Location of the configuration file

  • Location of the variable data (like log files)

  • Location of the DIB

  • NCP™ interface, unique identifying port for every instance, and ports of other services (like LDAP, LDAPS, HTTP, and HTTP secure port)

  • Unique server name for every instance

5.3.2 Configuring Multiple Instances

You can configure multiple instances of eDirectory using the ndsconfig utility. The following table lists the ndsconfig options you need to include when configuring multiple instances.

NOTE:All the instances share the same server key (NICI).

Option

Description

--config-file

Specifies the absolute path and filename to store the nds.conf configuration file.

For example, to store the configuration file in the /etc/opt/novell/eDirectory/ directory, use --config-file /etc/opt/novell/eDirectory/nds.conf.

-b

Specifies the port number where the new instance should listen.

NOTE:-b and -B are exclusively used.

-B

Specifies the port number along with the IP address or interface. For example:

-B eth0@524

or

-B 100.1.1.2@524

NOTE:-b and -B are exclusively used.

-D

Creates the data, dib, and log directories in the path specified for the new instance.

S

Specifies the server name.

Using the above-mentioned options, you can configure a new instance of eDirectory.

You can also configure a new instance using the ndsmanage utility. For more information, refer to Creating an Instance through ndsmanage.