News & Notes
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About LDAP Directories
In case you can't get enough of LDAP from running it at home (see this month's
Script Junkie), Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services
covers everything you need to know about setting up a directory service, including
design, deployment, maintenance, and how to leverage the directory into custom
applications. The book also includes sections on the history of the protocol
and case studies of how directories have been successfully deployed. It offers
to-do lists and sample code to help with real-life projects. The 846-page
reference spends eight chapters outlining considerations for setting the underpinnings
for an enterprise's own directory, with tips on how to assess milestones and
plan for growth. It also includes information about performing backups, replication,
and disaster recovery. It isn't called The LDAP Bible, but maybe it
should be.
The book's authors are Timothy Howes, one of the original Internet LDAP authors,
Mark Smith, a driving force behind University of Michigan's LDAP implementation,
and Gordon Good, who was also instrumental in developing the university's
LDAP directory. The three work at Netscape, so the book does contain a lot
of material dealing with Netscape's LDAP implementation. However, much of
the material can be applied to any LDAP implementation.
Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services is published by
Macmillan Technical Publishing and has a $50 cover price.
