An Introduction to LDAP

If you work in the computing industry, the chances are good that you've heard of LDAP by now. Wondering what all the excitement is about? Want to know a little more about the underlying technology? . This introduction - the first in a series of articles describing how to design, implement, and integrate an LDAP environment at your company - will familiarize you with the concepts behind LDAP while leaving the really hardcore details for later.

What is LDAP, anyway?

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, better known as LDAP, is based on the X.500 standard, but significantly simpler and more readily adapted to meet custom needs. Unlike X.500, LDAP supports TCP/IP, which is necessary for Internet access. The core LDAP specifications are all defined in RFCs -- a complete list of LDAP-related RFCs may be found at the LDAPman RFC page.

Using "LDAP" in a sentence
In everyday conversation, you'll hear well-intentioned people say things like, "Should we be storing that in LDAP?" or "Just get that data from the LDAP database," or "How do we go about tying LDAP into an RDB?" Strictly speaking, though, LDAP isn't a database at all, but a protocol used to access information stored in an information directory (also known as an LDAP directory). A more precise formulation might look something like this: "Using LDAP, data will be retrieved from (or stored in) the correct location within our information directory." But you won't find me correcting anyone on this point: either way, you get the idea across, and that's what counts.

Is an LDAP information directory a database?
Just as a Database Management System (DBMS) from Sybase, Oracle, Informix, or Microsoft is used to process queries and updates to a relational database, an LDAP server is used to process queries and updates to an LDAP information directory. In other words, an LDAP information directory is a type of database, but it's not a relational database. And unlike databases that are designed for processing hundreds or thousands of changes per minute - such as the Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems often used in e-commerce - LDAP directories are heavily optimized for read performance.

Full tutorial @ LDAPMan.org