Directory services terms

This topic is an overview of Domino terminology around directory services.

central directory architecture

Directory architecture in an IBM® Domino® domain in which some servers store Configuration Directories and use primary Domino® Directories on remote servers for lookups.

condensed directory catalog

A directory catalog created from the DIRCAT5.NTF template that is optimized for small size and used only on IBM® Notes® clients.

Configuration Directory

A directory in a central directory architecture that contains only documents related to Domino® configuration.

Contacts

A directory database on a Notes® client created from the PERNAMES.NTF template that contains the names and addresses of users and groups added by Notes® users.

directory server

A server whose purpose is providing directory services.

directory assistance

A feature used by servers to extend client authentication, name lookups, and LDAP operations to secondary directories.

directory assistance database

A database created from the DA.NTF template and used to configure directory assistance.

directory catalog

An optional directory database that can aggregate entries from multiple Domino® directories into a single database. There are two kinds of directory catalogs: condensed directory catalogs (used on clients) and extended directory catalogs (used on servers).

Directory Assistance document

Document created in a directory assistance database that describes a secondary directory.

distributed directory architecture

Directory architecture in a Domino® domain in which all servers use a local primary Domino® Directory.

Domino® Directory

A directory created automatically from the PUBNAMES.NTF template during first server setup that describes the users, servers, connections, and access control information for a Domino® domain, or a directory created manually from the PUBNAMES.NTF.

Domino® domain

A network of clients and servers whose users, servers, connections, and access control information is described in a Domino® Directory.

extended directory catalog

A directory catalog used by servers that, to facilitate quick name lookups, retains the individual documents and the multiple, sorted views available in the Domino® Directory. You create an extended directory catalog from the PUBNAMES.NTF template. Servers use directory assistance to locate an extended directory catalog.

extended ACL

An optional directory access control feature available for a Domino® Directory and extended directory catalog used to apply restrictions to users' overall directory access.

LDAP schema

A set of rules that defines what can be stored as entries in an LDAP directory. The Domino® LDAP Schema database (SCHEMA.NSF), which is created from the SCHEMA.NTF template, publishes the schema for a domain.

LDAP service

The LDAP server task running on a server to process LDAP client requests.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

A standard Internet protocol for accessing and managing directory information. LDAP is a simpler version of the X.500 protocol that supports TCP/IP.

mobile directory catalog

Alternate name for a condensed directory catalog set up on a Notes® client.

In releases of Domino® starting with 8.5.1, a condensed directory catalog is no longer supported on a Domino® server; therefore all condensed directory catalogs are now mobile directory catalogs. For servers, always use an extended directory catalog. If you have a mixed-release Domino® environment, condensed directory catalogs set up on servers running 8.5 and earlier are still supported.

primary Domino® Directory

The Domino® Directory that a server searches first and that describes the Domino® domain of the server.

remote LDAP directory

A directory on a remote LDAP server accessed via directory assistance.

remote primary Domino® Directory

In a central directory architecture, a primary Domino® Directory that a server with a Configuration Directory uses remotely.

secondary directory

Any directory a server uses that is not its primary Domino® Directory.

secondary Domino® Directory

Any Domino® Directory a server uses that is not its primary Domino® Directory.