System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP)
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LDAP Naming Services Compared to Other Naming Services

The following table shows a comparison between the DNS, NIS, NIS+, and LDAP naming services.

DNS

NIS

NIS+

LDAP

Namespace

Hierarchical

Flat

Hierarchical

Hierarchical

Data Storage

Files/resource records

2 column maps

Multi-columned tables

Directories (varied)

Indexed database

Servers

Master/slave

Master/slave

Root master/

non-root master; primary/

secondary; cache/stub

Master/replica

Multi master replica

Security

None

None (root or nothing)

Secure RPC (AUTH_DH)

Authentication

SSL, varied

Transport

TCP/IP

RPC

RPC

TCP/IP

Scale

Global

LAN

LAN

Global

Advantages of LDAP Naming Services

  • LDAP enables you to consolidate information by replacing application-specific databases, which reduces the number of distinct databases to be managed.

  • LDAP allows data to be shared by different naming services.

  • LDAP provides a central repository for data.

  • LDAP allows for more frequent data synchronization between masters and replicas.

  • LDAP is multi-platform and multi-vendor compatible.

Restrictions of LDAP Naming Services

Following are some restrictions associated with LDAP naming services:

  • Clients prior to Solaris 8 are not supported.

  • An LDAP server cannot be its own client.

  • Setting up and managing an LDAP naming services is more complex and requires careful planning.

  • A NIS client and a Native LDAP client cannot co-exist on the same client machine.


Note - A directory server (an LDAP server) cannot be its own client. That is, you cannot configure the machine that is running the directory server software to become an LDAP naming services client.


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