--- title: Manual initialization description: Manual initialization is not always required. Replication can proceed automatically over the network when replicas start from the same initial data. component: pingds version: 7.4 page_id: pingds:config-guide:repl-init canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingds/8.1/config-guide/repl-init.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: 2024-04-02T10:27:49Z keywords: ["Backup & Restore", "Features", "LDAP", "Replication", "Setup & Configuration", "Troubleshooting"] superseded_by: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingds/8.1/config-guide/repl-init.html section_ids: init-repl-online: Initialize over the network init-repl-ldif: Initialize from LDIF init-repl-backup: Initialize from backup --- # Manual initialization Manual initialization is not always required. Replication can proceed automatically over the network when replicas start from the same initial data. If this is not the case, manually initialize replication. | | | | - | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Test the initialization process to make sure you understand the duration and ramifications of the chosen initialization method.Use the results to make an evidence-based decision on whether to use backup/restore or export/import instead of online initialization. | How you initialize replication depends on your situation: **Initialization options** | Use cases | Recommendations | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Replicas installed with same data | Nothing to do (no manual initialization required) | | Evaluating DS softwareDeveloping a directory solutionPlenty of bandwidth to replicate data | [Initialize over the network](#init-repl-online)*Limitations:*- Transmits all data over the network, so requires ample bandwidth; can be a problem for slow links. - Rebuilds indexes and consumes significant system resources; can impact service performance. | | New directory service, medium to large data set (> 1 million entries; limited bandwidth) | [Initialize from LDIF](#init-repl-ldif)*Limitations:*- Rebuilds indexes and consumes significant system resources; can impact service performance. | | Existing directory service, medium to large data set (> 1 million entries; limited bandwidth) | [Initialize from backup](#init-repl-backup)*Limitations:*- All DS servers must be the same version. Backups are not guaranteed to be compatible across major and minor server releases. | | New backend | [Create a backend](import-export.html#create-database-backend), then one of:- [Initialize over the network](#init-repl-online) - [Initialize from LDIF](#init-repl-ldif) - [Back up](../maintenance-guide/backup-restore.html#backup) the new backend, then [Initialize from backup](#init-repl-backup)*Limitations:*- The limitations depend on how you initialize the new backend, and are described above. | | Broken data set | [Disaster recovery](../maintenance-guide/disaster-recovery.html)*Limitations:*- This method **permanently loses recent changes**. - Applications using the changelog must be reinitialized after you restore the data. | ## Initialize over the network Review [Initialization options](#init-repl-options) before following these steps: 1. Manually initialize replication using the replication protocol's total update capability in one of these ways: 1. Overwrite the data in all replicas with the data from the replica where the command runs: ```bash $ dsrepl \ initialize \ --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \ --toAllServers \ --hostname localhost \ --port 4444 \ --bindDN uid=admin \ --bindPassword password \ --trustStorePath /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \ --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \ --no-prompt ``` 2. Initialize a single other replica, identified by its server ID, from the replica where the command runs: ```bash $ dsrepl \ initialize \ --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \ --toServer ds-1 \ --hostname localhost \ --port 4444 \ --bindDN uid=admin \ --bindPassword password \ --trustStorePath /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \ --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \ --no-prompt ``` ## Initialize from LDIF | | | | - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | If you aim to return to a previous state of the data, or to initialize replicas with LDIF from a non-replicated environment, follow the steps in [Disaster recovery](../maintenance-guide/disaster-recovery.html). | Review [Initialization options](#init-repl-options) before following these steps: Initialize each replica with the same LDIF: 1. Stop the server. 2. If desired, enable data confidentiality. For details, refer to [Data encryption](../security-guide/data.html) and [Encrypt External Changelog Data](changelog.html#encrypt-ecl). 3. Import the LDIF. For details, refer to [Import LDIF](import-export.html#import-ldif). 4. Start the server. ## Initialize from backup Review [Initialization options](#init-repl-options) before following these steps: 1. Stop the replica. 2. Restore the backend from backup. For details, refer to [Restore](../maintenance-guide/backup-restore.html#restore). 3. Start the replica. Replication replays changes from other replicas that have happened since the backup was created.