Ability to identify appropriate
types of information that could be managed with a directory service. |
Try This:
Think of a new category of
basic employee data that might be included in company's online phone book. |
Factoid:
The performance of the Directory
Server increases almost linearly with the number of CPUs. |
|
Appropriate Uses
Directory servers can be described as network-enabled database engines
optimized for fast reads. They're very good at providing certain
types of information to certain types of clients.
Basic Employee Data
The most common use for directory services is to provide basic
employee data like names and email addresses to client applications that
need this sort of information. Basic employee data would include
things like:
-
Employee's full name
-
User ID
-
Telephone number
-
Department
The classic example of an application that requires this sort of information
is the online phone book. In this case, the phone book
would actually be a client application residing on numerous desktop systems.
All these client applications would retrieve information from a single
source, the corporate directory server.
Network Resource Data
Another common use for directory services is to provide network
resource data to other network services, like telnet, and application sub-systems,
like network printing. Network resource data would include things
like:
-
Printer names & IP
addresses
-
File server names & IP addresses
-
Network router addresses
-
User names & passwords
The classic example of a network service that depends on this
sort of information is remote login. The ability to provide this
service requires a trusted source of valid user names and associated passwords.
Physical Resource Data
Directory services can also be used to provide information
about physical resources. Physical resource data would include things
like the following:
-
Company mailstops & addresses
-
Lists of conference rooms in each building
-
Location of utility closets
-
Inventory of capital equipment like computers and copiers
Security-Related Data
One of the most exciting new uses for directory services is
their emerging role in providing security services. Directory servers
can be configured to interact with servers that provides digital
certificates to employees and authorized users. The combination
of these two services results in something called a public-key infrastructure
(PKI). Security-related
data could include things like the following:
-
public keys (special codes used for private communication)
-
digital certificates (special codes used to authenticate electronic
messages)
-
access codes for dial-back modems
-
badging information
|