Linux Network Administrator's Guide, 3rd Edition

Chapter 17. OpenLDAP

OpenLDAP is a freely available, open source LDAP solution designed to compile on a number of different platforms. Under Linux, it is currently the most widely used and best supported free LDAP product available. It offers the performance and expected functionality of many commercial solutions, but offers additional flexibility because the source is available and customizable. In this section, we will discuss possible uses for an OpenLDAP server as well as describe installation and configuration.

Understanding LDAP

Before proceeding, a brief explanation of LDAP is required. Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a directory service that can be used to store almost anything. In this way, it is very similar to a database. However, it is designed to store only small amounts of data, and is optimized for quick searching of records. A perfect example of an application for which LDAP is suited is a PKI environment. This type of environment stores only minimal amount of information and is designed to be accessed quickly.

The easiest way to explain the structure of LDAP is to imagine it as a tree. Each LDAP directory starts with a root entry. From this entry others branch out, and from each of these branches are more branches, each with the ability to store a bit of information. A sample LDAP tree is shown in Figure 17-1.

Figure 17-1. Sample LDAP tree.

Another ...