Novell EDIRECTORY 8.8 SP3, Administration Manual, Page: 19 / 634

Understanding Novell eDirectory
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Understanding Novell eDirectory
In simplest terms, Novell
®
eDirectory
TM
is a list of objects that represent network resources, such as
network users, servers, printers, print queues, and applications. Novell eDirectory is a highly
scalable, high-performing, secure directory service. It can store and manage millions of objects,
such as users, applications, network devices, and data. Novell eDirectory offers a secure identity
management solution that runs across multiple platforms, is internet-scalable, and extensible.
Novell eDirectory provides centralized identity management, infrastructure, Net-wide security, and
scalability to all types of applications running behind and beyond the firewall. Novell eDirectory
includes Web-based and wireless management capabilities, allowing you to access and manage the
directory and users, access rights, and network resources from a Web browser and a variety of
handheld devices.
Novell eDirectory natively supports the directory standard Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
(LDAP) 3 and provides support for TLS/SSL services based on the OpenSSL source code. For more
information on the eDirectory engine, see
eDirectory Process Requests (http://developer.novell.com/
research/sections/netmanage/dirprimer/2002/august/p020801.htm) .
Figure 1-1 shows a few of the objects as viewed in the Novell iManager management utility.
Figure 1-1
eDirectory Objects in iManager
Some object classes might not be available, depending on the actual schema configured on the
eDirectory server and the operating system running eDirectory.
For more information on objects, see Section 1.2, “Object Classes and Properties,” on page 23 .
If you have more than one eDirectory server on the network, the directory can be replicated on
multiple servers.
This chapter includes the following information:
Š
Section 1.1, “Ease of Management through Novell iManager,” on page 20
Š
Section 1.2, “Object Classes and Properties,” on page 23
Š Section 1.3, “Context and Naming,” on page 42
Š
Section 1.4, “Schema,” on page 45
Š
Section 1.5, “Partitions,” on page 52