LDAP System Administration

This excellent book covers implementing and administering LDAP better than any I have seen. It's apparent to me that a great deal of thought has gone into key paragraphs. Despite some comments to the contrary, the organization is methodical and logical. Throughout the book there are references to other sources to further research related topics. Chapter 1 LDAP is defined and you are pointed to the appropriate RFC's. Chapter 2 is an overview of the LDAPv3 and explains very well the format of the LDIF directory data/structure files. Incidentally, I found that this book enhanced my understanding of Microsofts Active Directory which encompasses among other things LDAPv3. Chapter 3 familiarizes you with the slapd.conf file and the example uses an SSHA hashed rootpw (an OpenSSL algorithm) and introduces you to the use of ACL's in this server config file. Chapter 4 leads you through building a company white pages using the command line (which you certainly should know how to do even if you are a GUI fan); the chapter concludes with a brief list of GUI editors for the faint of heart. Chapter 5 explains replicating to a backup LDAP server with slurpd, enhanced backups using generated LDIF files and distributing the directory to maximize network traffic efficiency. Additions, deletions and modifications to the database are illustrated. Searching is briefly, but concisely explained. Chapter 6 begins Part II, application integration. The Pluggable Authentication module pam_ldap and it's configuration file, ldap.conf are discussed and there is a list of ldap.conf parameters with explanations. Replacing NIS with LDAP is covered in this chapter. Chapter 6 ends with a brief overview of security mechanisms in LDAPv3. Chapter 7 presents LDAP as a directory storing email addresses and other contact information. Configuration examples for connection 4 popular email clients are included. Integration with 3 popular MTA's (postfix, sendmail and Exim) round out the chapter. Chapter 8 introduces integration of network services other than authentication and email with LDAP. Among other things, DNS, printing and Samba LDAP integration are discussed. Chapter 9 has a few valuable pointers in interoperability with other platforms, specifically Windows 2000 Active Directory. Digital certificates and Kerberos authentication on the Windows platform as relating to *nix are very briefly discussed. Chapter 10, Net::LDAP and Perl gives a mainly informational overview of connecting, binding and searching and contains sample scripts using the Net::LDAP module. It also demonstrates adding, updating and deleting entries using Perl scripts instead of the LDIF methods earlier in the book. Note, however that this is not a book about programming; it is a book about LDAP Administration. Lastly, this book does need an update. Some modules which were separate entities not so long ago are now symbolic links; for example: /usr/local/sbin/slapacl -> slapd <br /> /usr/local/sbin/slapa

This book is an awesome reference for someone interested in SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION (hence the title.) If you are a newbie looking for broader, philosophical reasoning or basic directory theory, this is NOT the book for you. If you know why you want a directory and understand the basics, then this book will definitely meet your needs. I was especially pleased with the no-nonsense approach, that got me up and running with a replicated directory, including referrals and references, by page 90. Excellent recommendations with enough detail to get the job done, along with great references to other resources and tools. The only thing that was lacking was the Samba integration chapter, which is 2.2 based, probably due to the book's age. While there are other resources out there, a second edition would still be nice.

This book is probably the best book I have ever read on OpenLDAP implimentation. The title is somewhat misleading in that it does not go into LDAP in general, including deep history, heavy schema development, etc. However, it covers the down and dirty of implimenting OpenLDAP in detail. It covers:-detailed slapd.conf configuration-pam_ldap-nss specific and pam specific configuration parameters in ldap.conf-DNS implimentation with LDAP-conversion toolsThis book is an excellent guide on actually putting LDAP to work, including design, configuration and implimentation.This book is NOT designed for people looking to impliment other LDAP software (iPlanet, etc). This book does not cover in depth enterprise level roll-out, research, and user feedback. But if you want a great book that covers configuration and usage of OpenLDAP and Linux..this IS the book for you.

Anyone that has attempted to integrate LDAP with services such as Email, NIS, Samba, Printing, etc. knows how sparce the documentation on the Internet is, if you are lucky enough to find it. This book does a great job of describing how to implement LDAP and make the most of it! The author has a concise and easy to read style that makes for a quick read. If you are using or plan to use OpenLDAP, this book is a must. If you want to integrate the previously mentioned services with LDAP, even if not with OpenLDAP, this book is still very valuable.

This book is great! It covers using LDAP for user authentication and other configuration information as well as for data like phone directories. If you've not tried LDAP before, the book includes detailed information on installing OpenLDAP and configuring it. I'm already using LDAP, and I was happy to find some of the more obscure topics demystified by the author (for example, replication and SASL interaction). This book is for system administrators, not for programmers, and will turn you into the local LDAP guru in no time.