Description:

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is the standard for directory information access and is the underlying protocol for a variety of email systems, Web systems, and enterprise applications. LDAP enables central management of users, groups, devices, and other data, thereby simplifying directory management and reducing the total cost of ownership. Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services, written by the creators of the protocol, is known as the LDAP bible and is the classic text for learning about LDAP and how to utilize it effectively. The Second Edition builds on this success by acting as an exhaustive resource for designing, deploying, and maintaining LDAP directory services. Topics such as implementation pitfalls, establishing and maintaining user access to information, troubleshooting, and real-world scenarios will be thoroughly explored.

Amazon.com Review

While early directory standards (such as X.500) offer some cross-platform functionality, none has the flexibility and widespread appeal of Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), which is fast becoming a standard part of networked computers. In Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services, three experienced engineers share their knowledge of LDAP in theory and practice, effectively defining this fast-emerging technology. If you're planning to work with LDAP in any way--whether as a network manager, a software developer, or an information technology administrator--you need to read and pay attention to this book. It's the last word on LDAP as it stands today.

Since directory services aren't widely understood, this book begins by defining them and explaining what they can do for an organization. The guide then gets into the specifics of how LDAP organizes directories and handles queries. The authors go to great lengths to talk about what information to put in directories, how to validate and maintain it, and how to manage access to it. There's also lots of material on initiating LDAP services and on troubleshooting.

The aft part of this book holds special appeal for software developers, since it talks extensively about how to implement LDAP in both new and existing software. Throughout, the authors pay special attention to data redundancy, security, privacy, and the economic issues involved in an LDAP deployment. The book's real-world focus is cemented by case studies (both historical and semifictional). --David Wall

From the Back Cover

Increasingly, organizations are using Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directories as the nerve centers of their computing infrastructures. LDAP--the Internet standard for directory information access--now provides the naming, location, and security traditionally supplied by network operating systems.

In this expanded second edition of the seminal LDAP reference, Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services, three LDAP experts explain the protocol and how to apply it effectively in numerous network environments. The book begins with an introduction to directory services and LDAP, including coverage of LDAPv3 extensions and the Netscape Directory Server. It then moves on to explore:

• Designing directory services, including data sources, schema, naming, topology, replication, privacy, and security
• Deploying directory services, including establishing user access to information, implementation pitfalls, and cost analysis
• Maintaining directory services, including backup, disaster recovery, and troubleshooting
• Creating and enabling directory-service applications
• Integrating directory services

Full of practical implementation advice and real-world examples, * Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services, Second Edition, * will give you the necessary footing to successfully implement LDAP directory-service projects.

0672323168B03212003