Overview

This document provides information on how to recover from inconsistencies in the DBAM database component of a DirX Directory service. It describes:

  • The general process for recovering from a DBAM database inconsistency

  • Methods for restoring the DBAM database to a consistent state that are generic to any type of database inconsistency

  • Methods for detecting and recovering from particular types of DBAM database inconsistencies

In descriptions of recovery procedures in this document:

  • The general term “database” refers to 1) the target DBAM database being operated on with DirX commands and 2) a target Directory Information Tree (DIT) being supplied or replicated on a DirX DSA.

  • The general term “node” refers to a target DirX DSA in a shadowing configuration, either a supplier DSA or a consumer DSA.

  • The general term “system” refers to a target DirX Directory service configuration

The next sections describe prerequisites for using the recovery procedures on a DirX Directory service and list the related DirX documentation that should be consulted before following the recovery procedures and used for reference when following these procedures.

Prerequisites

Using the recovery procedures described in this document imposes the following prerequisites on the target DirX Directory service:

  • Backup archives of the database must be created frequently with the dirxbackup command.We recommend performing daily backups.See the DirX Directory Administration Reference for usage information on the dirxbackup tool.

  • The consistency of each newly created backup archive must be verified with the dbamverify command.We recommend using all the tool’s verification options (-AXDST).See the DirX Directory Administration Reference for usage information on the dbamverify tool.

  • The shadowing scenario for the DirX directory system in use must consist of a supplier DSA and at least one consumer DSA that replicates the entire database; this type of consumer configuration is called a “full shadow”.Having one or more full shadows provides a more recent database snapshot than the content in the last saved backup should a recovery operation become necessary.See the DirX Directory Administration Guide for details on shadowing scenarios and the DirX Directory Administration Reference for usage information on performing shadowing operations with the dirxadm command.

  • The recommendations for maintaining the database (for example, periodically creating an LDIF dump file of the database and checking it for errors) that are given in the chapter "Recommendations for an operation concept" in the release notes for the DirX Directory version in use must be followed.

If the directory service in use does not meet one of these conditions, another recovery method can be used that does not depend on it.However, we highly recommend implementing these prerequisites at a minimum to provide a directory service that can be restored in case of a database error.

Related Documentation

The following documents provide additional details about the concepts and procedures referenced in this document.We recommend that you become familiar with the information in these documents before proceeding with the tasks described in this document:

DirX Directory Administration Reference:

  • dirxadm command and the following operations:

  • audit object

  • db check operation

  • sob object

  • lob object

  • sys start and sys stop operations

  • util object (dirxadm utilities like ldif_dump, export_dbconfig, import_dbconfig)

  • dbamboot command

  • dbamverify command

  • dirxbackup command

  • dirxdumplog command

  • dirxload command

  • dirxmodify command

  • The environment variable $DIRX_INST_PATH

DirX Directory Administration Guide

  • Using the DirX Directory Administration Tools

  • Performing a Total Update by Media

  • Creating a Shadow DSA

  • Creating a Synchronous Shadow DSA

the dbamdump command is used in several recovery procedures described in this document. This command is an internal tool used primarily by DirX Directory support and is not described in the DirX documentation.