connection handler

A connection handler is a component of the Directory Server that is responsible for accepting connections from clients, reading and parsing requests submitted by the clients, ensuring that they are processed by the server, and sending the corresponding responses back to the client. The connection handler manages all communication with the client and therefore needs to implement support for the associated protocol.

The directory server currently provides connection handlers capable of communicating using LDAP and JMX, as well as a special connection handler for internal use that may be used to allow components of the server (like plug-ins and other kinds of extensions) to perform operations. The server also provides an extensible connection handler API that may be used to implement support for additional network protocols.