Using a central directory architecture in a Domino® domain

A central directory architecture is an optional directory architecture you can implement in an HCL Domino® domain. This architecture differs from the traditional distributed directory architecture in which every server in a domain has a full replica of the primary Domino® Directory.

With a central directory architecture, some servers in the domain have selective replicas of a primary Domino® Directory. These replicas, which are known as Configuration Directories, contain only those documents that are used to configure servers in a Domino® domain, such as Server, Connection, and Configuration Settings documents. A server with a Configuration Directory uses a remote primary Domino® Directory on another server to look up information about users and groups and other information related to traditional directory services.

A central directory architecture does the following:

• Provides servers with Configuration Directories quick access to new information because the servers aren't required to wait for the information to replicate to them.
• Enables servers that store Configuration Directories to run on less powerful machines because they don't have to store and maintain the primary Domino® Directory.
• Provides tighter administrative control over directory management because only a few directory replicas contain user and group information.

A server with a Configuration Directory connects to a remote server with a primary Domino® Directory to look up information in the following documents that it doesn't store locally:

• Person
• Group
• Mail-in Database
• Resource
• Any custom documents you add

For example, to authenticate a user, a server with a Configuration Directory looks for the user credentials in a Person document in a remote primary Domino® Directory on another server in the domain.

You can set up a Domino® Directory as a Configuration Directory when you set up an additional server in the domain. If a server is already set up, you can use replication settings for the directory to change a primary Domino® Directory to a Configuration Directory or change a Configuration Directory to a primary Domino® Directory.

Do not mix servers with Configuration Directories and servers with primary Domino® Directories in the same cluster. Mixing the servers in this way can cause users to encounter server authentication and database authorization problems. All the servers in a cluster should be configured to use the same type of directory.