Active Directory, Second Edition

Attributes (attributeSchema Objects)

Just as class information is stored in Active Directory as instances of the class called classSchema, attributes are represented by instances of the class called attributeSchema. As with all objects, the attributeSchema class has a number of attributes that can be set when specifying a new instance. The attributeSchema class inherits attributes from the class called Top. However, most of the Top attributes are not really relevant here. Table 4-1 shows the defining attributes of an instance of the attributeSchema class (i.e., an attribute) that can be set.

Table 4-1. The defining attributes of an attributeSchema object instance

Attribute	Syntax	Mandatory	Multivalued	Description
attributeId	OID	Yes	No	The OID that uniquely identifies this attribute.
cn	Unicode string	Yes	No	The Relative Distinguished Name (RDN).
isSingleValued	Boolean	Yes	No	Whether this attribute is multivalued.
lDAPDisplayName	Unicode string	Yes	No	The name by which LDAP clients identify this attribute.
attributeSyntax	OID	Yes	No	Half of a pair of properties that define the syntax of an attribute. This one is an OID.
oMSyntax	Integer	Yes	No	Half of a pair of properties that define the syntax of an attribute. This one is an integer.
schemaIDGUID	Octet string	Yes	No	Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) to uniquely identify this attribute.
objectClass	OID	Yes	Yes	This will hold the values “attributeSchema” and “Top” to indicate that the value ...