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Sun ONE Meta-Directory 5.1.1 Administration Guide

Chapter 10
Configuring the Novell Directory Connector

This chapter discusses configuration details specific to the Novell Directory Connector, which provides bidirectional synchronization of Novell Directory eDirectory 8.6.2 and 8.7 user and group data into its Connector View. Configuration with respect to the Join-Engine is required to further synchronize this data with that in the Meta View.

Though the typical usage of this connector would be to synchronize the user and group data, this connector can actually be used to synchronize any other kind of data (data confirming to any other object class) that is recognized by data sources at both ends (viz. Novell Directory Server and Sun ONE Directory Server).

Novell Directory Connector supports bidirectional synchronization of any UTF-8 encoded data. The connector also supports multi-valued and binary attributes. In addition, the connector supports all the regular and special operations. Regular operations include - add, modify, delete and modrdn. Special operations include - addbacks and refresh.

Unlike the other indirect connectors, default mapping rules are provided only for the default schema (based on the object classes present) in the Sun ONE Directory Server. You may have to create additional rules to flow all the other user and group attributes present in the Novell Directory Server.

Schema for the Sun ONE Directory Server can also be manually extended to accommodate the complete set of attributes and object classes corresponding to the user and group object classes defined in Novell Directory Server, using the LDIF files present in the Novell Directory Connector's installation. One would have to then map the Novell Directory Server schema elements (attribute types and object classes) to these (corresponding) extended schema elements in Sun ONE Directory Server to flow data associated to these Novell Directory Connector specific schema elements.

The topics in this chapter are:

Before You Begin

Novell Directory Connector is an indirect connector and is not UTC-based. It is based on a connector framework that uses a MySQL database to perform change detection and loop detection for data in the Novell Directory server.

Note that multiple Meta-Directory installations can share the same MySQL database server installation.

The following pre-requisites must be satisfied before you install the connector:

Creating the Novell Directory Connector Instance

    To create a Novell Directory connector instance

The configuration parameters for creating the connector instance can be set using the ‘New Instance Connector’ dialog box only. Unlike the other indirect connectors, this connector does not require any configuration using an external configuration file.

Note that MySQL server should be running when a Novell Directory Connector Instance is created.

  1. From the Sun ONE Console, right-click Server Group.
  2. Choose Create Instance Of > Meta-Directory Novell Directory Connector. The ‘New Instance Creation’ dialog box displays.
    Figure shows the various options available to define the properties of the new instance.
  3. Use the following table to specify appropriate values in the fields:

    4. Table 10-1  List of options and the description of the action to perform

    Field

    Do This

    View Name

    Enter a name of any length that describes the View ID. The default is the View ID

    View ID

    Enter up to five characters to represent the view ID. The default is CVx, where x is the next successive integer following the last instance created.

    View Base DN

    Enter the subtree DN where this Connector View is located. The default is o=CVx, where x is the next successive integer following the last instance created.

    Data Server URL  

    From the drop-down list, select the data server to which the new instance should be created. You can also enter a data server (LDAP) URL of the form: ldap://FullyQualifiedhostName:Port.

    Data Server Bind DN

    Enter a DN to be bound to the data server URL for access rights to the subtree.

    Data Server Bind Password

    Enter the password associated with the data server bind DN.

    Novell Directory Server URL

    Enter the LDAP URL for the Novell Directory Server. This is of the form: ldap://FullyQualifiedhostName:Port.

    Novell Directory Server Bind User DN

    Enter a DN to be bound to the Novell Directory Server URL for access rights to the subtree. This is of the form - cn=admin, o=org.

    Novell Directory Server Bind Password

    Enter the password associated with the Novell Directory Server Bind User DN.

    Novell Directory Server Top Level Synch DN

    Specify the top level DN where Novell Directory Server Connector synchronization occurs. If the top level in Novell Directory (from where users/groups are being synchronized) is under a 'organizational-unit' node, the entry should be: ou=organizational-unit,dc=sun,dc=com.

    All the users and groups under the DN mentioned above will be synchronized.

    It is important that the value entered for this DN is in the same (exact) case as that present in the external data source. (The objective is to create entries whose DN values have the exact case as desired.)

    In general, the case of the value for any entry’s DN is significant in Meta-Directory; since entries flow across various types of data sources through the Join Engine and connectors. Some of the data sources support only case-sensitive DNs.
    For example, Novell Directory Server and Sun ONE Directory Server are case-insensitive to DN values, however Lotus Notes is case-sensitive to DN values.

    Absolute Path For JDBC Jar File Name

    Enter the absolute path, with the filename of the MySQL JDBC driver jar file.

    mySQL HostName

    Specify the fully qualified host name on which the mySQL server is running.

    mySQL DBA User Name

    Specify the user name of the database administrator using which new (change logs) database and users (required for the connector's operation) can be created in the mySQL server. One new (retro-changelog plug-in) database and a set of four (retro-changelog plug-in) users are created during the creation of each new Novell Directory Connector Instance.

    mySQL DBA User Password  

    Specify the password of the database administrator using which new (change logs) database and (change log) users (required for the connector's operation) can be created in the mySQL server.

    mySQL Database Name

    Specify the name of the new (change log) database that can be created in the mySQL server. Do not reuse a value already given for another connector instance. The Novell Directory Connector creates a new database with this name, in mySQL server for every instance of the connector.

    mySQL Database User Name

    Specify the base-name of the new (change log) database users that can be created in the mySQL server. Do not reuse a value already given for another connector instance. The Novell Directory Connector creates a new change log user with this name, in mySQL server for every instance of the connector.

    mySQL Database User Password

    Specify the password of the new (change log) database users that can be created in the mySQL server.

    To provide authorization

Provide authorization of created users for data server access. See "Setting Access Permissions" for the procedure.

Configuring a Participating Connector View

If you have installed the Join Engine, you can configure a Participating View for the Novell Directory connector. To configure the Participating View refer to the procedures in Chapter 2, "Working with Views."

    To add the instance as a Participating View
  1. Right-click the Participating Views object under Meta View. A context menu appears.
  2. Select Add Participating View. The Select View dialog box appears.
  3. Select the Connector View you want to add or participate in a join/synchronization with the Meta View.
  4. Click OK. The view is added to the Meta-Directory configuration tree.

Creating Users

The following procedures apply only to the Meta View. If you have installed the Join Engine and want to create new entries, you should ideally create them from the Meta View (instead of Connector View). The Connector View is intended only to reflect the contents of the external data source (Novell Directory Connector) or Meta View.

    To create a Novell Directory user in the Meta View
  1. Click on the Contents of the Meta View. From the menu bar, select Object > New > User. The Create New User dialog box appears.
  2. Provide input in the required fields. A default user ID is generated when you enter the first and last names. Make sure that the User ID field is alphanumeric and does not contain any of the following characters:
  1. Click OK. The user name appears in the right pane of the Meta-Directory console.

You can also create Novell Directory users in the Meta View by using an LDIF file format within any LDAP client.

    To modify a Novell user in the Meta View
  1. Click on the contents of the Novell Directory Meta View.
  2. Double-click on the Novell Directory user you want to modify. The Edit Entry dialog box appears.
  3. Click Advanced Alter the fields as needed, then click OK.

Similar procedure needs to be followed for creating and/or modifying Novell Directory group entries in the Meta View.

Configuring Connector Rules

You can configure two types of rules for the Novell Directory Connector:

However, the tabs for ‘Default Values’ and ‘Filters’ are not provided for the Novell Directory Connector. Hence you cannot use these features with the Novell Directory Connector instances. The recommended workaround is to introduce these configuration items while flowing data from Connector View to the Meta View (i.e. at the Join Engine level) via the configuration for ‘Filters’ and ‘Attribute Construction’.

Attribute Flow

The Novell Directory Connector uses attribute flow rules to specify the mapping between external data source attributes and the corresponding Connector View attributes. Novell Directory Connector provides the following preset configurations for Attribute Flow:

By default ‘Minimal Attribute Set for Default Schema’ is selected as the ‘Attribute Flow Configuration’.

The following user interface elements have been disabled in the ‘Attribute Flow’ tab and the ‘Insert Attribute Mappings’ window for the Novell Directory Connector:

In addition to the preset attribute flow configuration, you can also create new/custom attribute flow rules manually.

In the definition and application of these rules there are two concepts that, although not specifically referred to in the GUI, are important to remember. Granularity refers to the complexity of the application of the rules, i.e. whether the entry flows as a whole piece or whether the entry is divided into its base attributes which then flow separately. Ownership refers to where the entry originates (in the external data source or in the Connector View), i.e. whichever source the entry originates from is considered the owner of the entry.

Granularity and Ownership

Typically, if you do not configure your indirect connector rules, an indirect connector uses default attribute flow rules and the process is considered to have entry-level granularity. Novell Directory Connector requires you to select only one of the attribute flow rules; either preset rules or custom rules. Hence, there is no support for entry-level granularity.

When an attribute flow rule is applied, the flow is considered to have attribute-level granularity.

Attribute-level granularity has the following characteristics:

These concepts explain certain flow behaviors and must be reviewed when configuring and applying attribute flow rules for the Novell Directory Connector.

The next section describes how to create new External Attributes for use in creation of a custom/manual Attribute Flow rules.

    To add external attributes for Novell Directory connector

You can create a list of attributes that you want to flow from the external data source (Novell Directory Server) for Novell Directory Servers. You can store the external attributes as described in the following procedure.

  1. Click the Attributes tab from a Novell instance node to display the Attributes window.
  2. Click New.
  3. Click in the field, and then type the name of an external attribute to map to an internal attribute.
  4. Repeat Step 1 through Step 3 to add other attributes, and then click Save.

    5. See "To configure an attribute flow rule" to map the external attributes with Connector View attributes.

    To configure an attribute flow rule

An attribute flow rule is created and applied, as described, to achieve attribute-level granularity.

  1. Select the Novell Directory node from the Meta-Directory console navigation tree and click the Attribute Flow tab.
  2. Click New to display the ‘New Flow Configuration Name’ dialog box.

    3. Reset can be clicked at any time to delete all new configuration and return to the last saved state.

  3. Type a name for the new attribute flow configuration and click OK to display the Configurations list box.

    4. Note

    The ‘Mapping Type’ drop-down list is not available for the Novell Directory Connector.
    When creating attribute flow rules, all attributes must be mapped in both directions: ‘From Connector View’ and ‘To Connector View’. Mappings are configured this way in order to propagate changes in both directions.

  4. Click Insert to display the ‘Insert Attribute Mappings’ dialog box. This displays a list of all attributes configured as external attributes for the specific connector.
    Figure displays the properties of the attribute mappings.
    1. Specify the flow direction, either mappings of attributes from external data source to the Connector View or from the Connector View to the external data source.
    2. Specify either ‘All Attributes’ or ‘All Language Tagged Attributes’ from the ‘Connector View Objectclass’ drop-down list.

      3. If you specify ‘All Language Tagged Attributes’ as the Connector View objectclass, choose a supported language subtype. Check Add Phonetic Type box to indicate if the attribute value is a phonetic representation. For more information on these fields, see ‘To Compose Language Tagged Attribute Conditions’ of ‘Connectors and Connector Rules.”

    3. Select an external attribute and the Connector View attribute you wish to map it to.

      4. If you select an external attribute for which there is a matching Connector View attribute, the Connector View attribute is automatically selected. However, any Connector View attribute can be selected for any given external attribute. You can also use a keyword search by typing the first letter of the external attribute or Connector View attribute you want to find. For instance, if you wanted to find uid, you would only have to type u.

    4. Click ‘Insert’. The mapping for your configuration appears at the bottom of the Attribute Flow window.
    5. Select additional pairs, clicking ‘Insert’ after each pair is selected. Click Close when finished.
  5. Click Save to save the attribute flow rules.

    6. Note that you must always make sure that the attribute flow rule includes attribute mappings for all those attributes that are marked as mandatory/required at the destination end data source.

Object Class Flow

Use the object class flow rules to specify the mapping between external data source object classes and the corresponding Connector View object classes. Novell Directory Connector provides a single preset configuration for Object Class Flow:

By default ‘Object Class Set for Default Schema’ is selected as the ‘Object Class Flow Configuration’.

In addition to the preset object class flow configuration, you can also create new/custom object class flow rules manually. This allows you to flow entries belonging to any object class (not just those corresponding to user and group) in both directions.

The next section describes how to create new External Object Classes for use in creation of a custom/manual Object Class Flow rules.

    To add object classes for Novell Directory connectors

You can create a list of object classes that you want to flow from the external data source (Novell Directory Server) for Novell Directory Connectors. This step helps in ease of selection of ‘External Object Class’ in the ‘Insert Object Class Mappings’ window as described in the next section.

  1. Click the Object Classes tab to display the Object Classes window.
  2. Click New.
  3. Click in the field under ‘Object Class Name’ and then type the name of an external object class to map to an internal object class. Click in the blank field under ‘Naming Attribute’ label, and then type the name of the naming attribute corresponding to the external object class that you have just entered.
  4. Repeat Step 1 through Step 3 to add other object classes along with their corresponding naming attributes and click Save.

    5. See “To Configure an Object Class Flow Rule” to map the external attributes with Connector View attributes.

    To configure an object class flow rule

To achieve data synchronization via proper DN-mapping for the entries flowed, an object class flow rule is written and applied, as described in the following procedure.

  1. Select the ‘Novell Directory node from the Meta-Directory console navigation tree, and then select the Object Class Flow tab.
  2. Click New. The ‘New Flow Configuration Name’ dialog box displays. Reset can be clicked at any time to delete all new configuration and return to the last saved state.
  3. Type a name for the new object class flow configuration, and then click OK. The name is displayed in the Configurations list box.

    4. Note: When creating object class flow rules, all object classes must be mapped in both directions: ‘From Connector View’ and ‘To Connector View’. Mappings are configured this way in order to propagate changes in both directions.

  4. Click Insert. The ‘Insert Object Class Mappings’ dialog box displays. This displays a list of all object classes configured as external object classes for the specific connector.
    Figure displays a list of external object classes configured as objects classes for a particular connector.

For example, the figure shows the inetorgperson object class being mapped to inetorgperson object class for a flow direction to the Connector View. Naming attributes also have been entered.

    1. Specify the flow direction, either mappings of “object classes and the corresponding naming attributes” from external data source to the Connector View or from the Connector View to the external data source.
    2. Select an external object class and the Connector View object class you wish to map it to. Whereas the “External Naming Attribute” gets selected/populated automatically (if you have defined the external object classes and the corresponding naming attributes already), you will have to manually enter the value for the “Directory Naming Attribute”. The value of the "Directory Naming Attribute" should be carefully selected based on the manner in which the DN of the entries in the Connector View get constructed. If the Connector View is configured with respect to the Join-Engine, then the contents of the DN rule(s) drive the selection of this "Directory Naming Attribute" for the flow between Novell Directory Server and the Connector View (in Sun ONE Directory Server). i.e. If the Meta View to Connector View DN rule designates "cn" as the "Naming Attribute for Connector View entries", then "cn" (and not "uid") should be the value entered for "Directory Naming Attribute" when the "Object Class Mappings" are created. Hence, when data is flowed end-to-end between the Novell Directory Server and the Meta View, a typical mapping for flowing user-entries between the Novell Directory Server and the Connector View would look like "inetorgperson#cn <-> inetorgperson#cn".No automatic selection happens when you select an external object class for which there is a matching Connector View object class.
    3. Click Insert. The mapping for the configuration is displayed in the Object Class Flow window.
    4. Select additional pairs, and then click Insert after each pair is selected. Click Close when finished.
  1. Click Save to save the object class flow rules.

Configuring the Connector Instance

The tabs associated with a node for an instance Novell Directory Connector can be used to perform the following tasks.

Click the instance of Novell Directory Connector to be configured.

Using the General tab

  1. Click the General tab. The “Name” and “Connector View” fields would be read-only. This is the same data that was specified when the connector instance was created.
  2. Select the rules to be applied for attribute flow and object class mappings via the “Attribute Flow Configuration” and “Object Class Mapping Configuration” lists. The drop-down list to select “Object Class Mapping Configuration” is a new one that has been introduced just for the Novell Directory Connector and the Lotus Notes connector.

    3. Unlike UTC-based connectors, Novell Directory Connector does not have “Filter Configuration” and “Default Configuration” in the “General” tab.

  3. Select one of the radio buttons for the “Operation” to indicate the direction of data synchronization.

Using the Schedule tab

  1. Select the Schedule tab.
  2. Select either “To Connector View” or “From Connector View” and enter appropriate values in the text boxes for various synchronization schedule elements.

Using the Log tab

  1. Select Log tab.
  2. Provide information for the following fields:
    • “Log File Location” - Specifies the directory in which the log files reside. To specify a directory other than the default, enter the full path name of the directory on the system where the connector instance is created.
    • “Prefix for Log File Name” - Specifies the prefix for the log file name. For example, if you chose “meta” as the prefix, the log file names would be of the form “meta-yyyymmdd-nn.log”.
    • “Maximum Size of Each File” - Specifies the maximum size of each log file. After a log file reaches this size, a new log file gets created for subsequent log messages. The default value is set to 8192 KB.
    • “Maximum Disk usage” - Specifies the maximum disk usage set aside for logging. When the maximum disk usage is reached, the oldest log file is deleted. The default value is set to 15000 KB.
    • “Minimum Reserved Free Space” - Specifies the minimum disk space that should be available for logging, when the connector instance starts up. The default value is set to 4096 KB.
    • “Flush Buffered Log Data to Disk after every” - Specifies the size of log data buffer which controls the flushing of log data to the log files. This is specified in KB.
    • “Log level” - Specifies the available log levels. One of - “Off”, “Normal”, “Debug” or “Trace” should be selected.
      • A value of “Off” suppresses logging.
      • A value of “Normal” logs minimal information. Only error and warning messages are logged. Maximum disk space may be small and new files are created infrequently.
      • A value of “Debug logs error, warning and debug information into the log file. Maximum disk space should be large enough and new files may be created frequently.
      • A value of “Trace” logs maximum information. Error, warning, debug and trace messages are logged into the log file. Maximum disk space for this option should be large and new files would get created frequently.
    • “Trace” is the new log-level introduced for Novell Directory Connector. A new log file is created when the max size of the log file is reached. New files are not created based on the age of the log files.

Unlike UTC-based connectors, Novell Directory Connector does not have separate modules and hence needs a single value for the log-level. The log-level selected is applicable to all the components of the connector.

  1. Click “Save”. A connector restart is not required for the modifications specified in the log screen to take effect (if the connector is already running).

Using the Attributes tab

The external attributes (Novell Directory attributes) that can be flown to/from the Connector View are specified in the “Attributes” tab. Novell Directory Connector comes with a predefined set of external attributes that can be used to flow data. However, new external attributes can be added as described in “To add External Attributes for Novell Directory Connectors”.

Using the Object Classes tab

Object Classes screen is the new screen added for the connectors developed using the new connector framework. The external object classes (Novell Directory objectclasses) that can be flown to/from the Connector View are specified in the “Object Classes” tab. Novell Directory Connector comes with a predefined set of external objectclasses that are synched. However, new external object classes can be added as described in the following “To add Object Classes for Novell Directory Connectors”.

Tuning Novell Directory Server

Before the connector instance is started, ensure that appropriate indexes are created in the Novell Directory Server. You need to create two User-indexes on the attribute “objectclass” in Novell Directory Server, to achieve better search performance:

It is recommended that you restart the Novell Directory Server after you make these configuration changes and wait for these indexes to be “Online” and effective. Users should consult Novell Directory Server documentation about “Value” rules and “Presence” rules for indexes.

Restarting the Connector Instance

Except for the logging related settings, you would have to restart the connector instance (if it is already running) for any of the other configuration changes (described above) to take effect. Both instance-specific and shared configurations would not become effective for a given connector instance until it is restarted.

It is possible to pass arguments to the JVM used by the Novell Directory connector by editing the file NETSITE_ROOT/<connector-dir>/config/jvm.conf. Note that each line of this file should be a valid option of the JVM as defined in the JVM documentation. Lines beginning with # are ignored, as empty lines. For example, to set the maximum stack size used by the JVM to 20MB, add the following line to jvm.conf:
-DXss20m

Default values for (initial and maximum) the heap size is set to 200MB (-Xms200m and -Xmx200m). These values are sufficient, only, for small to medium volumes of data. For large volumes of data (50K entries and above; each of ~15KB size), it is recommended that the heap size is set to a higher value (~1500MB; -Xms1500m and -Xmx1500m).

    To restart a connector instance
  1. Stop the connector by right-clicking on the connector instance and selecting “Stop Server”.
  2. Click “Yes” to the prompt. A message appears stating that the stop command has been issued to the component.
  3. Start the connector by right-clicking on the connector instance and selecting “Start Server”. A message appears stating that the start command has been issued to the component.

Enabling and Refreshing the Connector View

After the Connector View is enabled and the Join Engine is started, data can flow to/from the Meta View. The following sections provide details on these tasks.

    To enable and refresh the connector view
  1. Starting the Join Engine. Before the Join Engine is started, ensure that you have already enabled the retro-changelog plug-in in the Directory Server configuration. To start the Join Engine:
    1. Select the Join-Engine node and right-click to display the context menu.
    2. Select Start Server. A confirmation message is displayed.
  2. Enable the Connector View
    1. From the Sun ONE Meta-Directory console, click the Status tab.
    2. Click the Join Engine object. The Operations window displays.
    3. Select the Participating View to enable.
    4. Select Enable from the Operation list and click Start. This option disables the “Traverse” drop-down menu.

      5. The Participating View can be enabled if the configuration for setting up the view is valid. Any error in the configuration automatically changes the view to a disable status.

  3. Refresh the Connector View wrt Meta View. You can optionally refresh the view if you want to observe updates immediately and bypass the regularly scheduled refresh synchronization.
    1. From the Sun ONE Meta-Directory console, click the Status tab.
    2. Select the Participating View to refresh. Note that it should already be enabled.
    3. Select Refresh from the Operation list and then select either Meta View or Connector View from the Traverse drop-down list.
    4. Click Start.
  4. Refresh the Connector View wrt Novell Directory. You can optionally refresh the Connector View wrt Novell Directory, if you want to observe updates immediately and bypass the regularly scheduled refresh synchronization.
    1. From the Sun ONE Meta-Directory console, click the Status tab.
    2. Select the Connector View to refresh.
    3. Select Refresh from the Operation list and then select Connector View from the ‘Updates to the’ list.
    4. Click Start.

      5. This would refresh all the entries owned by Novell Directory (that is, those entries that originally originated from Novell Directory) in the Connector View. The following dialog pops up when the refresh is started.

      In the same manner, data in the Novell Directory that originated from the Meta-Directory (Connector View or Meta View) can be refreshed by selecting appropriate options.

    5. Select Refresh from the Operation list and then select External Directory from the ‘Updates to the’ list.
    6. Click Start.

      7. This would refresh all the Connector View owned entries in the external directory. The following dialog pops up when the refresh is started.

Monitoring the Connector

To monitor the connector status, view the log file located here:

<NETSITE_ROOT>/ndc-ViewName/logs/meta-yyyymmdd-nn.log

For example, meta-20021225-04.log

Data Flow for User and Group Entries

Entries in the Novell Directory Connector view must adhere to certain conditions to flow from the Connector View to the Novell Directory. Note the following restrictions:

When setting up the Join Engine, you need to ensure that user and group entries meet the required criteria for Novell Directory Connector views. Discussion on the requirements for both user and group entries follows:

A Novell Directory user-object-name and group-object-name allows presence of any of these regular characters: upper and lower case alpha characters (A-Z) and numbers (0-9). They cannot have the following special characters:

* + \ : “ , . < > / ? = \= \” \.

However, the following special characters are allowed:

$ % ^ & @ # - ~ ! ( ) _ |

In addition if the name contains spaces, then it the whole name must be enclosed in quotes [“ “].

The attribute “owner” in the objectclass “groupOfNames” and attributes “manager” and “secretary” in the objectclass “inetOrgPerson” have a constraint of requiring a user-entry to exist already, with a DN whose value is same as the value for these attributes.

Synchronizing Users Using Novell Directory Specific Schema

Unlike the UTC-based connectors, the Novell Directory Connector does not provide a direct facility to use Novell Directory specific schema for the “Attribute Flow Configuration” and “Object Class Mapping Configuration”. The schema for the Directory Server hosting the Connector View does not get automatically extended during the creation of a Novell Directory Connector instance. You have to manually extend the Sun ONE Directory Server schema using the LDIF files present in the Novell Directory Connector's installation. The added schema elements include a list of attributeTypes and objectClasses that form a one-to-one mapping of the corresponding (User and Group related) elements present in the schema of Novell Directory Server.

As discussed in the previous sections on “Attribute Flow” and “Object Class Flow”, you can create custom rules for the “Attribute Flow Configuration” and “Object Class Mapping Configuration”. Hence, you can create rules for Novell Directory specific schema using schema elements that are created in the Connector View's Directory Server via schema extension (as explained above).

All you have to do is to create/define new “External Attributes” and “External Object Classes”. Then, choose and map these “External Attributes” and “External Object Classes” with the corresponding new (extended) schema elements in the Sun ONE Directory Server. Names of the new attributeTypes added to the Sun ONE Directory Server schema are of the format - “mdsNdsAttr-<attributeName>” and that of the new objectClasses added to the Sun ONE Directory Server schema are of the format - "mdsNdsOc-<objectClassName>”.

Look for “mdsNdsOc-inetOrgPerson” and “mdsNdsOc-groupOfNames” in the extended schema for the new object classes added.

About Connector Configuration Data

Most of the configuration specific to a Novell Directory Connector instance is stored under the attribute ‘mdsgeneralconfiguration’ of the following two configuration nodes in the configuration Directory Server instance:

This section explains some configuration items that is spread across these two nodes. Some of these configuration items marked as ‘<MANUALLY CONFIGURABLE>’ could be modified manually to suit the deployment needs. Rest of the configuration items have been described for the sake of clarity. Once may however choose to manually change these as well.

Configuration items under: cn=ndc-CVN,cn=connectors,cn=system,ou=5,ou=meta-directory,ou=global preferences,ou=<domain-name>,o=netscaperoot:

Configuration items under: cn=1,cn=tasks,cn=ndc-CVN,cn=connectors,cn=system,ou=5,ou=meta-directory,ou=global preferences,ou=<domain-name>,o=netscaperoot (also referred to as ‘connector instance configuration’):

Configuration Example

The following example is intended as a quick reference which can be used as a checklist. For complete configuration information, refer back to the earlier portions of this chapter.

  1. Install the Connector
    1. Ensure that Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2 and Sun ONE Meta-Directory 5.1.1 is installed. If the Novell Directory Connector is being installed on windows, ensure Novell client is installed. Also ensure that the user.id file for the admin and cert.id file for the certifier are copied.
    2. Create a Novell Directory Connector instance. During instance creation, provide input for all data fields. For details on the input fields, please see the table at the beginning of this chapter on Dialog Box Parameters”.
  2. Add the Connector View as a Participating View
    1. Right-click the Participating Views object to display the context menu.
    2. Select Add Participating View to display ‘Select View’ dialog box.
    3. Select ndc-CVN and click OK. The view is added to the Meta-Directory tree.
  3. Provide authorization. See “Setting Access Permissions”.
  4. Configure Connector Rules
    1. By default ‘Minimal Attribute Set for Default Schema’ is selected as the attribute flow configuration.
    2. By default ‘Object Class Set for Default Schema’ is selected as the object class flow configuration.
    3. Customized attribute flow and object class flow rules can be set as described earlier in this chapter.
  5. Configure a Connector Instance
    1. Select the ndc-CVN connector instance to display the General window.
    2. If default configuration rules are used, no configuration is required for the connector. If customized ‘Attribute Flow Configuration’ and ‘Object Class Flow Configuration’ are required, select the right configuration from the ‘Attribute Flow configuration’ drop-down list and ‘Object Class Flow Configuration’ drop-down list.
    3. For Operation, select ‘Both send and receive updates’.
    4. Click ‘Save’ if any default configuration was modified. Leave the current values for fields in the Schedule, Log, Attributes and ObjectClasses window.
  6. Restart the Connector Instance
    1. Right-click ndc-CVN and select Stop Server to stop the connector.
    2. Click Yes when prompted. A confirmation message is displayed.
    3. Now right-click ndc-CVN and select Start Server to restart the connector
  7. Start the Join Engine
    1. Select the Join Engine object from the navigation tree and right-click. Select Start Server. A confirmation message is displayed.
  8. Enable and Refresh the Meta View
    1. Choose Status > Join Engine > Operations.
    2. For View, select the Novell Directory Connector view. For Operation, select Enable, and then click Start.
    3. For Traverse direction, retain the default value ‘Connector View’ and repeat the above step, except select Refresh instead of Enable.
    4. From the Configuration window, refresh the Content of Meta View. Verify that the data is properly propagated to the Meta View.

Uninstalling the Connector

Prior to uninstalling the Novell Directory Connector (instances), you must remove each of the connector instances separately using the ‘Remove Server’ option from the Meta Console. This cleans the file system, registry (on Windows), configuration-directory, Connector Views, and the created-items (new database and users) from the MySQL database server.

Note

It is highly recommended that you follow the above procedure when uninstalling the connector, else, problems could occur during subsequent installation attempts (if you enter the same input parameters when creating the connector instances).

Known Limitations



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