Sun Java(TM) System Directory Server 5 2004Q2 Technical Overview |
Preface
The Directory Server Technical Overview serves as a one-stop port of call for users, namely IT managers, system administrators, and developers needing to gain a rapid understanding of how Sun Java System Directory Server can address their business and programming needs. The guide walks users through Directory Server architectural concepts and outlines the benefits to be gained from Directory Server functionality in terms of the performance, reliability, and scalability provided in key Directory Server areas.
This preface contains the following sections:
Before performing any of the tasks described in this guide, read the Directory Server Release Notes.
Who Should Read This GuideThis guide is intended for Directory Server users namely IT managers, system administrators, and developers needing to gain a rapid understanding of how Directory Server can address their business and programming needs.
The author of this guide assumes that you are likely to be familiar with the following:
How This Guide Is OrganizedThis guide is divided into these chapters:
This chapter describes the basic concepts you must understand before attempting to design and deploy Directory Server. It examines Directory Services in general, provides an architectural overview of Directory Server and outlines Directory Server data storage, data management, and Directory Server schema.
This chapter examines Directory Server performance and focuses on the performance enhancements brought by Directory Server 5.2 and Directory Server indexing.
This chapter examines the replication mechanism provided by Directory Server to achieve availability, backup and restoration possibilities, in addition to a brief overview of the high availability support provided by the Sun Cluster 3.1 Agent.
This chapter presents what Directory Server has to offer in terms of product scalability. Multiple database support, data distribution, scalable data management (including grouping entries, managing attributes, and modifying schema on-the-fly) and Directory Proxy server are examined.
This chapter examines Directory Server security and focuses on the issues of access control, password policy, secure connections, and secure data storage.
In the context of such a powerful product, manageability is crucial to the user and this chapter outlines how Directory Server’s console and monitoring possibilities afford increased user manageability.
Using the DocumentationThe Directory Server manuals are available as online files in Portable Document Format (PDF) and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) formats. Both formats are readable by assistive technologies for users with disabilities. The Sun documentation web site can be accessed here:
The Directory Server documentation set can be accessed here:
http://docs.sun.com/coll/DirectoryServer_04q2
Table 1 briefly describes each document in the set. The left column provides the name and Web location of each document. The right column describes the general contents of the document.
ConventionsTable 2 describes the typeface conventions used in this guide.
Table 3 describes placeholder conventions used in this guide.
Table 4 describes the symbol conventions used in this book.
Table 5 describes the shell prompt conventions used in this book.
Table 5 Shell Prompts
Shell
Prompt
C shell
machine-name%
C shell superuser
machine-name#
Bourne shell and Korn shell
$
Bourne shell and Korn shell superuser
#
Resources and Tools on the WebThe following location contains information about Java Enterprise System and its component products such as Directory Server:
http://wwws.sun.com/software/learnabout/enterprisesystem/index.html
Some supported platforms provide native tools for accessing Directory Server. For more tools useful when testing and maintaining LDAP Directory Servers, download the Sun Java System Directory Server Resource Kit (DSRK). This software is available at the following location:
http://wwws.sun.com/software/download/
Installation instructions and reference documentation for the DSRK tools is available in the Directory Server Resource Kit Tools Reference.
For developing directory client applications, you may also download the Sun Java System Directory SDK for C and the Sun Java System Directory SDK for Java from the same location.
Additionally, Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) technology supports accessing Directory Server using LDAP and DSML v2 from Java applications. Information about JNDI is available from:
http://java.sun.com/products/jndi/
The JNDI Tutorial contains detailed descriptions and examples of how to use JNDI. It is available at:
http://java.sun.com/products/jndi/tutorial/
Third-party URLs are included in this document to provide additional, related information.
How to Report ProblemsIf you have problems with Directory Server, contact Sun customer support using one of the following mechanisms:
So that we can best assist you in resolving problems, please have the following information available when you contact support:
- Description of the problem, including the situation where the problem occurs and its impact on your operation
- Machine type, operating system version, and product version, including any patches and other software that might be affecting the problem
- Detailed steps on the methods you have used to reproduce the problem
- Any error logs or core dumps
Sun Welcomes Your CommentsSun is interested in improving its documentation and welcomes your comments and suggestions. Use the web-based form to provide feedback to Sun:
Please provide the full document title and part number in the appropriate fields. The part number is a seven-digit or nine-digit number that can be found on the title page of the book or at the top of the document. For example, the part number of this Technical Overview is 817-5217-05.