Understanding Replication
At least three types of directory partition replicas are stored on each domain controller:
Schema partition Contains definitions of objects that can be created in the forest and the attributes those objects can have. Objects in the schema partition must be replicated to all domain controllers in all domains in the forest.
Configuration partition Contains objects that represent the logical structure of the forest deployment, including the domain structure and replication topology.
Objects in the configuration partition must be replicated to all domain controllers in all domains in the forest.
Contains all of the objects stored in a domain. Objects in thedomain partition can be replicated only to domain controllers within the domain.
In addition, a new type of directory partition the Application directory partition is available only to domain controllers in the Windows Server 2003 operating system. This partition is used by applications and services to store application-specific data, which can include any type of object except security principals (users, groups, and computers). The application partition can be configured to replicate objects to any set of domain controllers in the forest, not necessarily all in the same domain. This partition provides the capability to host data in microsoft exams Active Directory without significantly impacting network performance by providing control over the scope of replication and placement of replicas. Therefore, dynamic data from network services such as Remote Access Service (RAS), RADIUS, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and Common Open Policy Service (COPS) can reside in a directory, allowing applications to access them uniformly with one access methodology.
Some domain controllers are global catalog servers. On these domain controllers, there is also stored a partial replica of directory partition objects from other domains, for the purpose of finding information throughout the domain tree or forest. A partial replica contains a subset of the attributes of a directory partition replica and is read-only. To be connection objects. However, you can manually create connection objects to force replication if you are certain the connection is required and you want the connection to persist until you manually remove it.
For intersite replication to occur, you must customize how Active Directory replicates information by setting up site links. Site links are logical, transitive connections between two or more sites that mirror the network links and allow replication to occur. Once you have created site links, the KCC will then automatically generate the replication topology by creating the appropriate connection objects. It is important to note the difference between site links and connection objects. Site links are used by the KCC to determine replication paths between two sites and must be created manually. Connection objects actually connect domain controllers and are created by the Free MCSE PDF questions KCC, though you can also manually create them if necessary.