Macro ACI Example

The benefits of macro ACIs and how they work are best explained by using an example. Figure 6–1 shows a directory tree in which using macro ACIs is an effective way of reducing the overall number of ACIs.

In this illustration, note the repeating pattern of subdomains with the same tree structure (ou=groups,ou=people). This pattern is also repeated across the tree because the Example.com directory tree stores the two suffixes dc=hostedCompany2,dc=example,dc=com, and dc=hostedCompany3,dc=example,dc=com, which are not shown in the figure.

The ACIs in the directory tree also have a repeating pattern. For example, the following ACI is located on the dc=hostedCompany1,dc=example,dc=com node:

aci: (targetattr="*")
 (targetfilter=(objectClass=nsManagedDomain))(version 3.0;
 acl "Domain access"; allow (read,search) groupdn=
 "ldap:///cn=DomainAdmins,ou=Groups,dc=hostedCompany1,
 dc=example,dc=com";)

This ACI grants the domainAdmins group read and search rights to any entry in the dc=hostedCompany1,dc=example,dc=com tree.

Figure 6–1 Example Directory Tree for Macro ACIs

The following ACI is located on the dc=hostedCompany1,dc=example,dc=com node:

aci: (targetattr="*")
 (targetfilter=(objectClass=nsManagedDomain))
 (version 3.0; acl "Domain access"; allow (read,search)
 groupdn="ldap:///cn=DomainAdmins,ou=Groups,dc=hostedCompany1,dc=example,dc=com";)

The following ACI is located on the dc=subdomain1,dc=hostedCompany1, dc=example,dc=com node:

aci: (targetattr="*")
 (targetfilter=(objectClass=nsManagedDomain))
 (version 3.0; acl "Domain access"; allow (read,search)
 groupdn="ldap:///cn=DomainAdmins,ou=Groups,dc=subdomain1,dc=hostedCompany1,
  dc=example,dc=com";)

The following ACI is located on the dc=hostedCompany2,dc=example,dc=com node:

aci: (targetattr="*")
 (targetfilter=(objectClass=nsManagedDomain))
 (version 3.0; acl "Domain access"; allow (read,search)
 groupdn="ldap:///cn=DomainAdmins,ou=Groups,dc=hostedCompany2, dc=example,dc=com";)

The following ACI is located on the dc=subdomain1,dc=hostedCompany2, dc=example,dc=com node:

aci: (targetattr="*")
 (targetfilter=(objectClass=nsManagedDomain))
 (version 3.0; acl "Domain access"; allow (read,search)
 groupdn="ldap:///cn=DomainAdmins,ou=Groups,dc=subdomain1,dc=hostedCompany2,
 dc=example,dc=com";)

In the preceding four ACIs, the only difference is the DN that is specified in the groupdn keyword. By using a macro for the DN, it is possible to replace these ACIs with a single ACI at the root of the tree, on the dc=example,dc=com node. This macro ACI reads as follows:

aci: (target="ldap:///ou=Groups,($dn),dc=example,dc=com")
 (targetattr="*")(targetfilter=(objectClass=nsManagedDomain))
 (version 3.0; acl "Domain access"; allow (read,search) 
 groupdn="ldap:///cn=DomainAdmins,ou=Groups,[$dn],dc=example,dc=com";)

Note that the target keyword which was not previously used needs to be introduced.

In the preceding example, the number of ACIs is reduced from four to one. However, the real benefit is a factor of how many repeating patterns you have down and across your directory tree.