---
title: Install DS for custom cases
description: Follow these steps to install a DS replica with your own custom configuration:
component: pingds
version: 7.2
page_id: pingds:install-guide:custom-replica
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingds/8.1/install-guide/custom-replica.html
llms_txt: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingds/llms.txt
docs_for_agents: https://developer.pingidentity.com/build-with-ai/docs-for-agents.md
revdate: 2022-04-15T14:30:27Z
superseded_by: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingds/8.1/install-guide/custom-replica.html
---

# Install DS for custom cases

Follow these steps to install a DS replica with your own custom configuration:

1. Before proceeding, install the server files.

   For details, see [Unpack files](install-files.html).

2. Run the `setup` command with any required setup profiles.

3. Finish configuring the server.

   Perform any of the following optional steps *before starting the server*.

   Use the `--offline` option with commands instead of the credentials and connection information shown in many examples:

   * Add custom syntaxes and matching rules.

     For examples, see [Custom indexes for JSON](../config-guide/indexing.html#configure-json-index).

   * Configure password storage.

     For details, see [Configure password policies](../security-guide/passwords.html#configure-pwp).

     Take care to configure the password policy import plugin as well. For details on the settings, see [Password Policy Import Plugin](../configref/objects-password-policy-import-plugin.html).

   * Add custom LDAP schema.

     For details, see [LDAP schema](../config-guide/schema.html).

   * Configure one or more backends for your data.

     For details, see [Create a backend](../config-guide/import-export.html#create-database-backend). When you create the backend, unless you choose *not* to replicate the data, follow each step of the procedure, adapting the example commands for offline use:

     * Configure the new backend using the `dsconfig create-backend` as shown.

     * Verify that replication is enabled using the `dsconfig get-synchronization-provider-prop` command as shown.

     * Let the server replicate the base DN of the new backend, using the `dsconfig create-replication-domain` command as shown to configure the replication domain.

     * If you have existing data for the backend, make appropriate plans to initialize replication, as described in [Manual initialization](../config-guide/replication.html#init-repl).

   * Configure indexes for the backends you configured.

     For details, see [Indexes](../config-guide/indexing.html).

   * Make sure the server has the shared master key for encrypted data and backups.

     If you set up the servers with a known deployment ID and password, you have nothing to do.

     If you do not know the deployment ID and password, see [Replace deployment IDs](../security-guide/key-management.html#replace-deployment-ids).

   * Initialize replication.

     For example, import the data from LDIF, or restore the data from backup.

     For details, see [Manual initialization](../config-guide/replication.html#init-repl), [Import LDIF](../config-guide/import-export.html#import-ldif), or [Restore](../maintenance-guide/backup-restore.html#restore).

4. Start the server:

   ```bash
   $ /path/to/opendj/bin/start-ds
   ```

When you start the server, it generates initial state identifiers (generation IDs) for its replicated base DNs. If you perform the above configuration steps on replicas separately after starting them, their generation IDs can be out of sync.

When generation IDs do not match on different replicas for a particular base DN, DS must assume that the replicas do not have the same data. As a result, replication cannot proceed. To fix the mismatch of this replica's generation IDs with other replicas, stop the server and clear all replication data:

```bash
$ /path/to/opendj/bin/stop-ds
$ /path/to/opendj/bin/dsrepl clear-changelog
```

|   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
|   | Clearing the changelog before all the changes have been sent to other replication servers can cause you to lose data.Use the `dsrepl clear-changelog` command only when initially setting up the replica, unless specifically instructed to do so by a qualified ForgeRock technical support engineer. |

Complete any further configuration necessary while the replica is stopped to align it with other replicas. When you start the replica again with the `start-ds` command, other replication servers update it with the data needed to resume replication.

For details on replication, see [Replication](../config-guide/replication.html).