NetWare Directory Services

3-5
Understanding Management Features
Directory Partitions
Directory Partitions
The NDS database can be divided into smaller portions called Directory
partitions. Directory partitions are distinct segments of the Directory tree.
Directory partitions can be used to decrease possible WAN traffic and to
enable more efficient network management.
NOTE: NDS Directory partitions are not related to the logical disk partitions that exist on
server hard disks.
Because an NDS database can be separated into partitions located on servers
across the network, it is a distributed database.
Partitioning NDS information is completely transparent to network users,
making the network look like a single, cohesive collection of resources.
A partition is a subtree or branch of the Directory tree. A partition is named
according to the [Root]-most container object within the partition (the one
that is closest to the [Root] object).
The [Root] object is always included in the first partition created, which is
known as the [Root] partition.
When a partition is subordinate to another in the Directory tree, it is referred
to as a child partition. The partition above it is referred to as the parent
partition.
The following illustration shows a parent partition in relation to its child
partition in a Directory tree.