id2entry.db2 problem on Netscape Directory Server 4.16

Hi all,

We're facing a quite strange problem with our Directory Server.

We removed some days ago, using the Directory Server Graphical console, an user and all seemed to be fine.

After remove the user we made some ldapsearch for the user and the results were as expected. (no result).

Few days after we start to face some strange mail problems with one of the removed user department colleague. After make some research we found something that we didn't expect.

In some files of the daily "db2bak" we run (id2entry.db2 and entrydn.db2), we've found info related with the deleted user.

The deleted user id was "jcmolina" and this the info we found:

$ pwd

/iplanet/server5/slapd-srvmail/bak/2006_11_06_154254

$ grep jcmolina *

entrydn.db2:ou: jcmolina

entrydn.db2:entrydn: ou=jcmolina,ou=pie,ou=directorio grupo pyrenees,o=pyrenees.ad,o=pyren

entrydn.db2:dncomp: ou=jcmolina

id2entry.db2:entrydn: un=librodedirecciones846cc46,ou=jcmolina,ou=pie,ou=directorio grupo p

id2entry.db2:dncomp: ou=jcmolina

id2entry.db2:ou: jcmolina

id2entry.db2:entrydn: ou=jcmolina,ou=pie,ou=directorio grupo pyrenees,o=pyrenees.ad,o=pyren

To be honest with you guys that doesn't make sense for me, since if

we removed the user logically shouldn't be info related with this user in the

"id2entry" database, but it appears.

Therefore here is my question:

Is there any way to solve this incongruence?, like a way to remove the info related with jcmolina user from these two databases?

Any help will be really welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Kind Regards

[1679 byte] By [cruizpollino] at [2007-11-26 11:16:21]
# 1

The entry probably hasn't been purged yet.

After you "delete" an entry from the server, it gets marked for deletion from the database. It's still in the database files, but the server won't return it if you search for it. There is a process that purges entries older than a certain length of time - I think the default is around 1 week.

As long as the entry doesn't get returned when you search for it, the fact that it's in the database shouldn't matter.

chadklunck at 2007-7-7 3:31:27 > top of Java-index,Web & Directory Servers,Directory Servers...
# 2

Deleting entries doesn't null out the space the entry was occupying.

The previous poster was thinking of Directory 5.x semantics, where entries would get marked with a special object class to tag them as deleted, then would be purged later. I believe the 4.x directory didn't dow that, it just deleted entries right away. But even though the DB might have the entry as deleted, that doesn't mean it zeros out the pages the entry resides on.

Capitan_Holy_Hippie at 2007-7-7 3:31:27 > top of Java-index,Web & Directory Servers,Directory Servers...