RE: [ActiveDir] NTDS.pat

[Rick Kingslan]

Title: Message

Joe,   The NTDS.PAT file is a file that is generated and maintained by the ESE (Extensible Storage Engine) that is ued by Windows 2k for the maintenance of the active directory databases.   The purpose, however,  of the .pat (or, patch) file is to provide a means in which the AD database can be backed up while on-line (effectively, no users are affected by the need to put it into single-user mode).  If the database and logs are being read by the backup program, then the transactions that are coming in need to be held somewhere.  A patch file is created to hold the information that is being changed or updated while the database is occupied.  Once the backup is complete and the database is released, the patch file is applied to the end of th ebackup and incorporated later.  In this way, we maintain a method to continue service and retain changed information.   Hope this helps! Rick Kingslan - Microsoft Certified Trainer   MCSE+I on Windows NT 4.0   MCSE on Windows 2000   MVP [Windows NT/2000 Server] "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."   ---  Arthur C. Clarke -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Joe Sent: Monday, June 10, 2002 10:30 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [ActiveDir] NTDS.pat Anyone know what the ntds.pat file is used for?  Located in the same directory as log file edb.log.  Thx, Joe