Data synchronization process

PingDataSync performs point-to-point synchronization between a source endpoint and a destination endpoint. An endpoint is defined as any source or destination topology of directory or database servers.

PingDataSync synchronizes data in one direction or bidirectionally between endpoints. For example, in a migration phase from Sun Directory server to a PingDirectory server, synchronization can occur in one direction from the source server to a staging server. With one-way synchronization, the source server is the authoritative endpoint for changes in the system. Bidirectional synchronization allows for parallel active installations between the source and the destination endpoints. With bidirectional synchronization, both endpoints are authoritative for the same set of attributes or for different sets of data.

PingDataSync also contains no single point of failure, either for detecting changes or for applying changes. PingDataSync instances themselves are redundant. There can be multiple instances running at a time, but only the server with the highest priority is actively synchronizing changes. The stand-by servers are constantly polling the active server instance to update their persistent state. This state contains the minimum amount of information needed to begin synchronization where the primary server left off, which logically is the last processed change number for the source server. In the case of a network partition, multiple servers can synchronize simultaneously without causing problems as they each verify the full entry before making changes.