LDAP ( Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is an open industry standard for remote directory lookup. Although many people may think of LDAP as only an authentication server, it is a standard that describes a general hierarchical database that can be, and has been, applied to a variety of other tasks, including email address lookup, RMI lookup, as well as general JNDI support.
This lesson is concerned with a single LDAP server, including its installation, administration, directory definition, and its use for authentication. That server is IBM's Tivoli LDAP Directory Server. The primary use of the server is to support authentication for an IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment (WASND) configuration.
The status of this lesson is "in progress." It is being used to record information and current "understanding" along the path to learning how to design, build, and use an LDAP directory. Thus, whatever is found here should be read with a grain of salt.
Network Sorcery provides a useful page of links to RFCs and other resources pertaining to LDAP. IBM provides two Redbooks that discuss both general concepts embodied in LDAD as well as practical guides for implementing an LDAP directory. Sun provides a number of tutorials dealing with LDAP, particularly as it relates to Java. Tilak Mitra's Using LDAP to Secure J2EE Applications in WebSphere Studio Application Developer V5 is an excellent guide to enabling LDAP-based security for WebSphere. Samar Tyagi's LDAP and JNDI: Together Forever provides examples of Java code for supporting basic CRUDS operations with an LDAP server through JNDI resources.
Administration
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Directory Definition Using LDIF
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