Red Hat 8.1, Command Reference Manual

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Chapter 1.
1
Introduction
Directory Server is based on an open-systems server protocol called the Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol (LDAP). The Directory Server is a robust, scalable server designed to manage large scale
directories to support an enterprise-wide directory of users and resources, extranets, and e-commerce
applications over the Internet. The Directory Server runs as the
ns-slapd
process or service on the
machine. The server manages the directory databases and responds to client requests.
This reference deals with the other methods of managing the Directory Server by altering the server
configuration attributes using the command line and using command-line utilities and scripts.
1.1. Directory Server Configuration
The format and method for storing configuration information for Directory Server and a listing for all
server attributes are found in two chapters,
Chapter 2, Core Server Configuration Reference
and
Chapter 3, Plug-in Implemented Server Functionality Reference
.
1.2. Directory Server Instance File Reference
Chapter 4, Server Instance File Reference
has an overview of the files and configuration information
stored in each instance of Directory Server. This is useful reference to helps administrators understand
the changes or absence of changes in the course of directory activity. From a security standpoint, this
also helps users detect errors and intrusion by highlighting normal changes and abnormal behavior.
1.3. Using Directory Server Command-Line Utilities
Directory Server comes with a set of configurable command-line utilities that can search and modify
entries in the directory and administer the server.
Chapter 6, Command-Line Utilities
describes these
command-line utilities and contains information on where the utilities are stored and how to access
them. In addition to these command-line utilities, Directory Server also provides
ns-slapd
command-
line utilities for performing directory operations, as described in
Appendix A, Using the ns-slapd
Command-Line Utilities
.
1.4. Using Directory Server Command-Line Scripts
In addition to command-line utilities, several non-configurable scripts are provided with the Directory
Server that make it quick and easy to perform routine server administration tasks from the command-
line.
Chapter 7, Command-Line Scripts
lists the most frequently used scripts and contains information
on where the scripts are stored and how to access them.