What You’ve Learned
- Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an industry-standard way to access data from within a directory. It runs on Mac OS X Server.
- You can use the command-line tool ldapsearch to search for a specific entry in a given LDAP database, or use a GUI tool, such as LDapper, to search for a specific entry in a given LDAP database.
- Requestors need identification and authentication information that can be stored on Mac OS X Server.
- The LDAP directory on Mac OS X Server is accessed from a client using the LDAPv3 plug-in.
- Directory Access can be used to configure a Mac OS X client computer to bind to an LDAP server using address and search base values provided by DHCP or a Mac OS X server providing LDAP service.
- The dscl command-line tool verifies that a Mac OS X client computer is bound to a Mac OS X server providing directory services.
- Directory Access can add a Mac OS X server providing directory services to the list of servers used for user authentication so that a user can log in to the client computer using a user account stored on the server.
- The ipconfig command verifies that a client computer is receiving LDAP configuration information from a DHCP server.
- Directory Access can add a Mac OS X LDAP server to the list of directory servers for user authentication.
References
Administration Guides
“Mac OS X Server Open Directory Administration”: http://images.apple.com/server/pdfs/Open_Directory_v10.4.pdf
“Mac OS X Server User Management”: http://images.apple.com/server/pdfs/User_Management_Admin_v10.4.pdf
“Mac OS X Server Command-Line Administration”: http://images.apple.com/server/pdfs/Command_Line_v10.4.pdf
Apple Knowledge Base Documents
The following Knowledge Base document (located at www.apple.com/support) provides further information about accessing LDAP data stores.
Document 107695, “Mac OS X Server v10.3 or later: Avoid spaces and long names in network home directory name, path”
Books
Carter, Gerald. LDAP System Administration (O’Reilly, 2003).
URLs
The application LDapper author’s website: Carl Bell: http://carl-bell-2.baylor.edu/~Carl_Bell/stuff.html
The main OpenLDAP website: www.openldap.org