Such a directory accessed via LDAP is good for anything that involves a large number of access requests to a mostly-read, attribute-based (name:value) backend, and that can benefit from a hierarchical structure. Any information that you feed into your DIT must also be in such a format. The above entry is in LDIF format (LDAP Data Interchange Format). The terms object, container, and node have certain connotations but they all essentially mean the same thing as entry, the technically correct term.įor example, below we have a single entry consisting of 11 attributes where the following is true:
It is not considered part of the entry itself. This, in turn, consists of a Relative Distinguished Name (RDN) followed by the parent entry’s DN. Here are some key concepts and terms:Ī directory is a tree of data entries that is hierarchical in nature and is called the Directory Information Tree (DIT).Īn entry consists of a set of attributes.Īn attribute has a key (a name/description) and one or more values.Įvery attribute must be defined in at least one objectClass.Īttributes and objectclasses are defined in schemas (an objectclass is actually considered as a special kind of attribute).Įach entry has a unique identifier: its Distinguished Name (DN or dn). A common mistake is to call a directory an LDAP directory, or LDAP database, but it’s really so common, and we all know what we are talking about, that it’s ok. The current LDAP version is LDAPv3, as defined in RFC4510, and the implementation used in Ubuntu is OpenLDAP."
The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, or LDAP, is a protocol for querying and modifying a X.500-based directory service running over TCP/IP.