[Request] HOWTO build LDAP server for shared address book.

[Erik Norgaard]

Wael Nasreddine wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I have never worked with LDAP but I would like to install an LDAP
> server on my server and share my address book on it between all the
> programs I used daily, I searched a lot on google but I couldn't find
> anything except the one on ubuntu[1] which I'm not sure it'll work...
> 
> Could someone please help me building this address book, I really need
> it but I have no idea how to do it on my own...

LDAP, despite the Lightweight part, is not that easy to understand first 
time, it took me quite some time before I finally got hand of it. There 
is a book from O'Reily on the topic.

One thing I found for an address book, is that you should make sure all 
contacts have:

objectClass: person
objectClass: extensibleObject

The first sets some minimum for the entries, they must be persons. The 
second means that you can add anything you like. Otherwise you will be 
restricted in your choice of attributes depending on how object classes 
nest.

In my case, I have friends on three continents, and I like to have their 
address with country specified.

I can't do that when the extensibleObject is missing, because person or 
inetOrgPerson assumes a hierarchy with country on the top, and that just 
doesn't make sense in my case: Then I have to search differently 
according to country. I need all on the same branch. extensibleObject 
solves that, now I can add the country attribute for each, as well as 
preferred language etc...

Cheers, Erik



-- 
Erik Nørgaard
Ph: +34.666334818                           http://www.locolomo.org