Tombstoning

Records that are deleted or marked as extinct on one server can cause inconsistencies to the database of its replication partners. For example, a record that was deleted from the database on one server can easily still appear within the database of a replication partner.

Windows Server 2008 supports a feature known as tombstoning. After a record is marked as tombstoned it is no longer considered to be active on the local WINS server. The record remains within the local database for replication purposes. When a tombstoned record is replicated, all replication partners mark the record as being tombstoned and it becomes extinct, eventually being removed from the database.