Directory Server also supports complex replication scenarios in which the same suffix (database) can be mastered on many servers. This suffix is held in a read-write replica on each server. This means that each server maintains a changelog for the read-write replica.

This type of configuration can work with any number of consumer servers. Each consumer server holds a read-only replica. The consumers can receive updates from all the suppliers. The consumers also have referrals defined for all the suppliers to forward any update requests that the consumers receive. Such scenarios are called multi-master configurations.

In a cascading replication scenario, one server, a hub, acts both as a consumer and a supplier. It holds a read-only replica and maintains a changelog, so it receives updates from the supplier server that holds the master copy of the data and, in turn, supplies those updates to the consumer. Cascading replication is very useful for balancing heavy traffic loads or to keep master servers based locally in geographically-distributed environments.