Determining a Schedule for Directory Synchronization

You can set up individual connection agreements to perform synchronization at specific times of the day or night. Each connection agreement has its own associated schedule. As an administrator, you will determine the most appropriate time for each synchronization operation. A network with a large number of users may require synchronization more frequently than a smaller network. Also, some networks may require specific objects to be synchronized more frequently than other objects.

Some considerations for creating a directory synchronization schedule are as follows:

• Determine if you will be synchronizing more than 100,000 users or mailboxes. If so, you can improve performance by setting up multiple connection agreements to synchronize different objects at different times.
• If you make daily changes to either directory and do not need the changes to appear in the other directory until the next day, you should schedule synchronization nightly.
• Understand the internal replication schedules for both Active Directory and the Exchange Server directory. In order to ensure timely and efficient use of resources, schedule ADC synchronization in a manner that is staggered with respect to internal directory replication.
• If directory manipulation is commonly done at a specific time or times of the week, customize the synchronization process to occur soon after the changes are made, and only after the changes are made.

Figure 20.14 represents an example of a production and directory synchronization schedule.

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Figure 20.14 A Production and Directory Synchronization Schedule

When you create your ADC Connection Agreement Plan, you create a directory synchronization schedule similar to the one in Figure 20.14. The ADC Connection Agreement Planning Worksheet, located in Appendix A, includes a template that you can use to create your own synchronization schedule.

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