ATG repositories are collections of repository items, which are JavaBean components that correspond to an object in an underlying data store. A user directory is a way of organizing the information in a repository by representing repository items as objects in a graph or tree. Objects such as users, organizations, and the roles that those users and organizations possess are displayed as Principal objects in the Dynamo User Directory. Displaying these repository items in a user directory allows you to manipulate them in flexible ways within the security system. You can use all Principal objects obtained from a user directory directly in Access Control Lists and in entries managed by security domains compatible with that directory.

The Personalization module uses one or more profile repositories to store information about Web site visitors. Each profile in the repository contains information about a user such as the user’s name and address. The Dynamo User Directory allows you to manage user profiles by capturing relationships between users and the organizations to which they belong. Web site visitors may have characteristics that come from multiple sources such as the company they work for, the Web browser they use, their age, gender, or other sources. User directories support multiple types of individuals by placing user profiles in an organizational graph based on rules that you specify.

The Dynamo User Directory allows you to assign access rights to repository items.

The Personalization module also organizes information about ACC users in a user directory. You can use the Admin SQL implementation of the Dynamo User Directory to store security information and Access Control Lists for ACC users. For more information about how the security system interacts with the Admin SQL repository, see Secured Repositories in the ATG Repository Guide.

This chapter contains the following sections:

User Directory Architecture
Describes the basic concepts of a user directory.

User Directory Security
Describes how you can use the Dynamo User Directory to authenticate users and assign access rights to repository items.

User Directory API
An overview of the user directory API.

Dynamo User Directory Implementation
Describes the Dynamo User Directory that is configured out-of-the-box with the Personalization module.

 
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