The ABCs of LDAP: How to Install, Run, and Administer LDAP Services

Until now, it has been difficult to find the right source of information on LDAP and directory server implementations: books on the subject are overly product-specific, and a search on the Web results in information overload. The ABCs of LDAP: How to Install, Run, and Administer LDAP Services strikes the right balance, providing a synopsis of LDAP fundamentals without getting wrapped up in one particular implementation.

This book is for network and systems administrators who want to begin using LDAP more extensively. It delivers the theoretical background needed to understand how these servers work, resulting in clear, concise examples of implementations in both commercial and OpenLDAP environments.

The text is structured so that each chapter can stand on its own, with brief descriptions of terms supplemented by references to more detailed explanations in other chapters. You also benefit from a concise overview of how to design a directory, preparing you to execute directory deployments for email, PKI, DNS, NIS servers, and many other productivity-enhancing applications.

Topics include major LDAP APIs, such as PHP, Perl, and Java, as well as distributed command line tools. The book covers ways to integrate LDAP into existing systems, and provides hands-on examples within working implementations.

About the Author

Reinhard Voglmaier studied physics at the University of Munich in Germany (TUM) and graduated from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics in Munich. After working in the Information Technology (IT) Department at the German University of the Army in the field of computer architecture, he was hired as a hardware specialist for automation by Honeywell. He then moved on to Siemens Nixdorf, where he worked for several years as a UNIX systems specialist for performance questions in database/network installations. For the past six years, he has worked at Glaxo Smith Kline in the field of Web and LDAP services. He is currently a member of an international team developing a companywide LDAP implementation for Glaxo Smith Kline.