20.3 Creating a DFS Management Context

Before you create a DFS junction, you must create at least one DFS Management Context at an O or OU level in the Novell eDirectory tree where you want to create the junction. You can create more than one Management Context if you have a geographically diverse company. In this way, each geographic area can manage and control the junctions and the VLDB service within its own domain.

IMPORTANT:Whenever you rebuild the VLDB, it searches all services in the context you specify as the DFS management context. If you use DFS for only a small subset of your total servers, the VLDB rebuild is faster if you place only the servers that use DFS in a separate context, then specify the DFS management context at that same level.

When you create a DFS Management Context, you specify which servers host the VLDB services and hold the actual VLDB database. It is the VLDB services, which includes its database, that allows you to create DFS junctions.

20.3.1 Using iManager

  1. In iManager, select the Distributed File Services role to expand it, then select Create Management Context.

  2. Configure the following parameters:

    Parameter

    Description

    Name

    The distinguished name of the O-level or OU-level container in the eDirectory tree where the management context resides.

    For example, if a tree contains the following O and OU containers, you can specify a DFS management context in any of them:

    • example
    • hr.example
    • mfg.asia.example
    • sales.emea.example

    Replica Site

    The distinguished name of the server where you want to host an instance of VLDB services for the new management context. A management context can have 1 or 2 replica sites. Any NetWare 6.5 or later servers within the management context can host a replica of the VLDB service, but the chosen server can host a replica for only one management context.

    The server can be at any level within the specified container but it cannot be in another management context. For example, if a management context exists beneath another context, both function independently. If the server is in the lower-level management context, it cannot host the replica site for the higher-level management context.

    Database Location

    The path ( vol:\directorypath) to the directory where the VLDB database is stored on the replica site. The default location is sys:\etc.

    Run VLDB Service on Server Restart

    Select this check box if you want the VLDB services to begin automatically when the server is restarted.

    Deselect this check box if you want to start the VLDB service manually.

  3. When you are done, select OK to create the DFS management context and load and activate the VLDB services on the replica servers.

    The create action updates eDirectory. This process can take up to 5 minutes. Do not click again on the page or elsewhere in the browser until the page refreshes with a message that confirms whether the create was successful or not.

20.3.2 Using ConsoleOne

  1. On the server that you want to make a VLDB server, open ConsoleOne and log in with the administrator username.

  2. Navigate to the eDirectory container where you want to enable DFS support.

  3. Right-click an O-level or an OU-level context in the eDirectory tree, then click New>DFS Management Context.

  4. Select the server from the Available list, click the right-arrow to move it into the Selected list, then click Next.

    The server you select runs the VLDB service and houses the database.

  5. Specify where you want to store the VLDB database file on the server, and then click Finish.

    The default location is the sys:\etc directory.

    After you create the DFS Management Context, DFS creates attributes for Volume objects in the eDirectory container object for the specified server, and it starts DFS on the server you selected.

  6. (Conditional) For a larger eDirectory tree, with servers located in multiple eDirectory containers, manually run VLDB Repair from the server console because a username and password are required in this situation.

    IMPORTANT:You must start the VLDB Repair command from the server console immediately after creating the DFS Management Context; do not start it from ConsoleOne.

    The VLDB Repair adds a DFS GUID to every Volume object in the eDirectory containers for other servers in the tree and enables the DFS Junction function for all the NetWare 6. x servers in the tree.

  7. (Optional) You can specify a second server in the same LAN as a VLDB server, which allows you to maintain a copy of the database on another server to prevent data loss or corruption.

    1. On the second server, open ConsoleOne.

    2. Open the server’s Property page.

    3. Click Add Replica.