NS3000/iX NMMGR Screens Reference Manual - Edition 8 (36922-90038)

Chapter 15 305
Network Directory
Planning the Network Directory
Planning the Network Directory
There are two schools of thought on how network directories should be
planned and configured on a network, as follows:
• Centralized network directories.
• Decentralized network directories.
The centralized school of thought requires each node on the internet to
have the same network directory. This means that every node in the
network must have an entry in the network directory. The advantage to
this is that you update the network directory in one place, then copy it
to the rest of the world. The disadvantage is that network directories
for large internets are going to be large.
The recommended way to create and maintain your network directory
using the centralized method is to assign a single node as the central
administrative node. You configure the network directory on this
node and then copy it to all other nodes on the network. When the
network directory is updated, it is updated on the central
administrative node, then copied to the other nodes. This procedure
decreases the possibility of incompatible directories. You may want to
assign a central administrative node for each network or for the entire
internet.
The decentralized school of thought suggests that each network
directory be configured individually on each node. The advantage to
this is that you can customize the network directory on each node for
security purposes using local and global entries. The network directory
will also be smaller because it will only contain entries for that
particular node. However, updates must be done manually on each
node.
Copying and Merging Network Directory Files
The first time you configure the network directory, an entry for all
remote IP addresses must be added manually using the NMMGR
screens. After the first network directory is configured, you can use the
MPE STORE and RESTORE commands to copy the network directory to
other nodes. (This is assuming you have adopted the centralized
method of network directory maintenance. If you use the decentralized
method, you must always use NMMGR to create and maintain the
network directory.)
NOTE The network directory uses a KSAM file pair. Therefore, when copying a
directory, be sure to copy both the data file and the key file.