Creating a Data Set Using an LDAP Query

BI Publisher supports queries against Lightweight Directory Access protocol (LDAP) data sources.

You can query user information stored in LDAP directories and then use the data model editor to link the user information with data retrieved from other data sources.

For example, to generate a report that lists employee salary information that is stored in the database application and also include employee e-mail addresses that are stored in the LDAP directory in the report, you can create a query against each and then link the two in the data model editor to display the information in a single report. The figure below shows a sample LDAP query.

Description of the illustration GUID-EE92A4FB-D06E-4F3D-915C-A2A2EAFEA485-default.gif

1. Click the New Data Set toolbar button and select LDAP Query.
2. In the New Data Set - LDAP Query dialog, enter a name for this data set.
3. Select the Data Source for this data set.
4. In the Search Base field, enter the starting point for the search in the directory tree.

   Note:

   Search Base is required when the LDAP provider is Microsoft Active Directory. The Search Base defines the starting point of the search in the directory tree. For example, if you want to query the entire directory, specify the root.

   To specify the starting point, enter each hierarchical object separated by a comma, starting with the lowest level in the hierarchy, for example, to search the Sales container in the mycompany.com domain, enter:

   ou=Sales,dc=mycompany,dc=com
5. In the Attributes entry box, enter the attributes whose values you want to fetch from the LDAP data source.

   For example:

   mail,cn,givenName

6. To filter the query, enter the appropriate syntax in the Filter entry box. The syntax is as follows:

   (Operator (Filter)through(Filter))
   

   For example:

   (objectclass=person)
   

   LDAP search filters are defined in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments document 2254, "The String Representation of LDAP Search Filters," (RFC 2254). This document is available from the IETF Web site at http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2254.txt.

7. Link the data from this query to the data from other queries or modify the output structure. For instructions on completing this step, see Structuring Data.