To archive or restore eDirectory objects, specify the fully distinguished name of a leaf object or a container to be archived, extracted, or listed. To archive the whole tree, specify the Tree object. You can also back up the schema by specifying Schema as the object.
You can back up the entire tree or a part of the tree starting with a particular container. You can back up the schema and schema extensions.
You cannot back up partition information. If the tree structure becomes corrupted and you restore the data, all data is restored to one partition, the Tree partition. You need to repartition that portion of the tree. You should keep a written copy of the tree structure and the partitions.
You can begin the backup of the database from anywhere in the tree structure. The backup process continues from that point downward to the end of that portion of the tree. If the selected container is Tree, the entire tree structure is processed. This allows you to back up the entire tree structure or subsets such as a single branch, a single container, or even a single leaf object.
When you back up eDirectory, we recommend that you back up the tree structure in one session. Partial eDirectory backups and restores are possible, but they are more difficult.
The backup utility lets you customize the backup process. You can choose specific eDirectory objects to exclude from or to include in the backup session. You might want to use include or exclude if your tree is spread across several geographic locations. In this scenario, a full directory backup crossing WAN links could result in a noticeable performance hit.
Whether you use Exclude or Include usually depends on the size of the data you want to back up, compared to the size you do not want to back up. By combining the Exclude and Include options, you can control what is backed up.
To back up most of the tree structure while omitting only a small part, use the Exclude option to omit the part you do not want to back up. You can exclude objects by distinguished name or exclude a subtree by a container name. Everything that you do not want specifically excluded is included. After you exclude part of the structure, you cannot include objects below that container.
To back up a small part of the tree structure, use the Include option to specify the data you want. You can include objects by distinguished name or include a subtree by a container name. Everything you do not want specifically included is excluded.
When you specifically Include a subtree by container name, all objects below that container are included.
In general, the database should be backed up on a weekly basis. The frequency of this backup depends on how often changes and updates are made to the tree structure. For a tree that changes often, you might want to perform an eDirectory backup every time you do a full backup of all the servers on the network.
IMPORTANT: Always back up eDirectory prior to major tree modifications. To get a full backup, the entire tree structure needs to be functioning, meaning that all partitions are synchronized normally. A tree cannot be entirely backed up if any replicas of any partition are offline.
You can restore objects if they have been lost or corrupted since a backup was made. A restore session restores data from a backup. The restore session retrieves the requested objects from the backup file and restores them to the location you specify. For a custom restore session, you can specify exactly which data to restore. Several options work together for maximum flexibility in a restore session.
The best way to ensure that your database can be fully protected is through partition replication, with replicas of the entire database on multiple servers. However, on a single-server network, you must rely on backing up the data because you do not have the replicas to restore information.
If part of the tree structure, including partitions and replicas, exists when the database information is restored, those partitions and replicas will left as they are, and you will not need to repartition the tree.
In case of corrupted data, follow these general steps:
Delete the corrupted data.
Allow time for the deletion to propagate throughout the network.
The allotted time depends on the size of the data to be backed up, the size of your network, the number of servers you have, and the number of containers and users you have.
Restore the data.
A replica containing the object does not have to be on the server. The database creates an external reference when necessary.
An external reference is a pointer to an object not found locally on the server; it is used to authenticate and reference objects that are not local to the server.
You can choose specific subsets of a backup session to include in or exclude from the restore session by selecting containers or objects. For more information about including and excluding, see Customizing Your Backup.
The backup utility lets you perform selective restores from the backup file. However, partial eDirectory restoration from a backup can have many subtle consequences, particularly when only a single object or a selected group of these objects is restored.
For partial eDirectory restores, keep these two main issues in mind:
Object ID Numbers: If you restore objects that no longer exist in the tree, those objects receive new ID numbers when they are restored. New object IDs affect file system trustees, print queue directories, user mail directories, etc.
If you restore objects on top of objects that exist in the tree, the objects do not receive new ID numbers. These objects' current attribute and property information is overwritten with previous information from the backup.
Objects That Depend on Other Objects: In the schema, objects are defined to have certain attributes. Some of these attributes are mandatory (meaning they must contain a value); others are optional. For some objects, the value for a particular attribute is a reference to another object upon which the object depends. For example, the Queue object has a Queue directory attribute that contains the file system to the queue directory. It also has a Host Server attribute that identifies the file server on which the queue directory resides. This information is used to determine the physical location of the resource. The specifics of restoring objects vary depending on what type of object is involved and whether the object's dependencies are physical entities (servers and volumes) or logical entities. In some cases, an object might be restored but not be functional unless you first restore its dependent objects.
Be careful when you perform a selective restore, overwriting existing eDirectory objects. Objects such as groups and users have references to other objects in the tree structure that will be affected by a selective restore.
For example, suppose a part of the tree structure gets corrupted and several users are deleted from the tree. There is a group that contains those users, but once the users are gone, the group purges the membership list to remove those users; the group, however, continues to exist in the tree structure.
If you perform a selective restore and choose not to overwrite existing objects, the group membership list remains empty even if you restore users. You need to either add the users manually to the group membership list or restore the original group.