Entering the directory synchronize Command

After you enter the command, the dcecp program temporarily suspends the dcecp> prompt while the skulk is in progress. Skulks of directories with large replica sets may take some time to execute. If the prompt returns with no error messages, the skulk is successful. If error messages are displayed before the prompt returns, the skulk failed.

For a skulk to succeed, every replica in the directory's replica set must be reachable. Skulks may sometimes fail, especially on directories with large replica sets, or when the servers that store replicas of the directory are located over great distances where network connectivity is not always reliable.

Skulk failure does not make CDS unusable. Although the skulking process is unable to update information in a replica that it cannot contact, it always updates information in the replicas that it can reach. Temporarily, some replicas contain the latest information and some do not. When a skulk fails, CDS automatically repeats the skulking process, at an interval based on the directory's convergence value, until all replicas in the set are updated with the latest changes. When all replicas contain identical information, CDS considers the skulk successful.

If skulks of a particular directory continue to fail, you can determine the cause by reviewing the log of CDS events on the server that stores the master replica of the directory. For example, the following command initiates a skulk on the /.:/admin directory:

dcecp> directory synchronize /.:/admin
dcecp>