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Introduction

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a lightweight version of the Directory Access Protocol, which is part of X.500. Being neither a directory nor a database, LDAP is an access protocol that defines operations for how clients can access and update data in a directory environment.

Research

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Mobile in Minute papers

Why is LDAP Important?

LDAP is used today in many aspects of directory environments involving intranets, extranets, and the Internet. For example, a mobile user may initiate a database lookup over the Internet via WAP to obtain another mobile phone number. This is advantageous in many ways. First, the user’s mobile phone number may only store a certain number of phone numbers. Second, LDAP enables the interface to a directory environment in which the company may update the phone number when it changes. In addition, the requestor may obtain additional information, such as an indication if the owner of the phone number is available or perhaps on holiday.

Directory Enabled Networks

The LDAP is protocol is evolving into a more intelligent network structure called a Directory Enabled Network (DEN). DEN is a network structure that separates the logical properties from physical components. For example, policy elements such as security, quality of service (QoS), and capacity allocation would be separated from the actual policy, application, and directory servers themselves.

Through this separation, the DEN is to achieve several advantages, which include:

• Implementation of policy rules that are logically separated from the specific details of device characteristics and data
• Allow for the network to rapidly reconfigure and self-manage in terms of directory data and network relationships
• Allow the network to recognize people and applications based on pertinent (and potentially dynamically changing) attributes, rather than static data
• Allow for an overall more flexible, less expensive, fully-functional network structure for better support of applications

DENs are separated into two main components: directory and policy servers. A directory is a means of storing and retrieving cross-referenced data. A policy server is provides static and/or dynamically assigned policy management procedures such as QoS or capacity management. Policies can be modified through user intervention or through intelligent agent intervention. Regardless, the DEN enables the policy server to dynamically execute policy in a distributed fashion across the directory network environment.

Summary

LDAP is an important protocol to IP networking and is therefore important to the development and administration of mobile data applications. An important evolution of LDAP will involve the migration to DENs, which have the potential to considerably improve directory environments. However, deployment of DENs, by definition, requires a distributed approach. To gain necessary performance efficiency, it is necessary to cache data in local servers, thus introducing the need for data synchronization.

As mobile Internet connectivity and related applications continue to grow at a rapid pace, the industry will need to introduce DEN and other related technologies to ensure efficient, scalable, fault tolerant database management and operation.