Migrating User Data from Application-Specific Repositories

Migrating user data from an application-specific repository requires:

• Collecting the user data from the application-specific repository and formatting it in a way that the directory can read it

• Making that data available to the directory administrator who must then:
  • Specify where to place it in the directory

  • Import it into the directory

The Intermediate Template File

To enable this migration to happen, the Oracle Directory Provisioning Integration Service requires the application-specific repository to export its data to an intermediate template file. Records in this template file are not in pure LDIF; they contain substitution variables that have to do with, for example, the location in the directory where the information is finally to reside. The application leaves these variables undefined, so that you, the directory administrator can define them later on.

To convert the user data from this intermediate template file into proper LDIF, you use the OID Migration Tool (ldifmigrator). Once the data is converted to LDIF, you can load it into the directory.

To summarize: Migrating data from application-specific repositories involves these general steps:

1. Exporting the application-specific data as an intermediate template file

2. You, the directory administrator, using the OID Migration Tool (ldifmigrator) to read these partial LDIF entries and convert them to pure LDIF entries based on the deployment choices

3. You, the directory administrator, loading the data, now in pure LDIF, into Oracle Internet Directory

4. The application completing the migration process according to its own specifications

Reconciling Data in Application Repository with Data Already in Oracle Internet Directory

The data you are migrating from an application-specific repository may already reside in Oracle Internet Directory. If this is the case, then you can reconcile differences between the two directories by using the reconciliation feature of the OID Migration Tool (ldifmigrator).

See Also: "Load Capability" "Reconcile Capability" for information about the reconciliation feature of the OID Migration Tool

Tasks For Migrating Data from Application-Specific Repositories

To migrate data from application-specific repositories, you create an intermediate template file, then run the OID Migration Tool.

Task 1: Create an Intermediate Template File

Applications generating data in national languages must store that data in AL32UTF8 in the intermediate template file as specified in the IETF RFC 2849, "The LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) - Technical Specification" available at http://www.ietf.org.

When generating the intermediate template file, migrating applications must list all user records sequentially with a record separator as defined in RFC 2849. The OID Migration Tool (ldifmigrator) assigns all of these users to the default identity management realm, which corresponds to the enterprise itself.

Figure 23-1 shows the overall structure of the intermediate template file containing user entries.

Figure 23-1 Structure of the Intermediate User File

Text description of the illustration oidag068.gif

The intermediate template file uses the following format to generate a valid user entry. All of the strings in bold text are supplied from the application-specific repository.

dn: cn=UserID, %s_UserContainerDN%
sn: Last_Name
orclGlobalID: GUID_for_User
%s_UserNicknameAttribute%: UserID
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: orclUserV2

In this template, the strings %s_UserContainerDN% and %s_UserNicknameAttribute% are substitution variables for which the OID Migration Tool provides values. The OID Migration Tool determines these values according to deployment-specific considerations. Either the application passes the arguments to the OID Migration Tool, or the tool retrieves them from the directory.

Example: User Entries in an Intermediate Template File

The following intermediate template file includes user entries generated by the application-specific migration logic. In this example, all of the data listed in bold text is from the application-specific user repository.

dn: cn=jdoe, %s_UserContainerDN%
sn: Doe
%s_UserNicknameAttribute%: jdoe
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: orclUserV2
title: Member of Technical Staff
homePhone: 415-584-5670
homePostalAddress: 234 Lez Drive$ Redwood City$ CA$ 94402

dn: cn=jsmith, %s_UserContainerDN%
sn: Smith
%s_UserNicknameAttribute%: jsmith
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: orclUserV2
title: Member of Technical Staff
homePhone: 650-584-5670
homePostalAddress: 232 Gonzalez Drive$ San Francisco$ CA$ 94404

dn: cn=lrider, %s_UserContainerDN%
sn: Rider
%s_UserNicknameAttribute%: lrider
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: orclUserV2
title: Senior Member of Technical Staff
homePhone: 650-584-5670

Once all of the user data is converted to the intermediate file format, the OID Migration Tool further converts it into a proper LDIF file that can be loaded into Oracle Internet Directory.

You can find examples of intermediate template files in $ORACLE_HOME/ldap/schema/oid.

Attributes in User Entries

Each user entry has mandatory and optional attributes.

Table 23-1 lists and describes the mandatory attributes in a user entry.

Table 23-1  Mandatory Attributes in a User Entry

Attribute	Description
sn	Surname--that is, the last name--of the user
objectclass	Object classes the entry should minimally belong to: inetOrgPerson and orclUserV2

See Also: IETF Request for Comments 2798: "Definition of the inetOrgPerson LDAP Object Class," available at http://www.ietf.org, for a description of each attribute in the inetOrgPerson object class "Optional Attributes of the orclUserV2 Object Class"

Task 2: Run the OID Migration Tool

Once you have set up the intermediate template file, the OID Migration Tool enables you to bring all pertinent data from the application-specific repository into Oracle Internet Directory. Once you have migrated the data, you can update whatever portion of it is relevant to the application by synchronizing that application with Oracle Internet Directory. You synchronize by using the Oracle Directory Synchronization Service.

See Also: "The OID Migration Tool (ldifmigrator) Syntax" for instructions about using the OID Migration Tool