Chapter 4: Directory Services

Chapter 4: Directory Services

Overview

So far, we have covered ways of transferring and addressing mail messages between systems. However, as mail becomes more popular and the need for management increases, we need a vehicle that can help organize and order the addresses and resources. An ideal system would allow us to provide a global address book with the location, name, and address of every user and resource on the network.

The answer to this organizational problem is called a directory service . This chapter explains how the main directory services work and how they interoperate. Some existing mail standards, notably the Internet, are in desperate need of a global addressing scheme. Others, such as the pairing of X.400 and its directory service X.500 provide almost too much overhead, which puts off potential developers.

Directory Services

A directory service (sometimes called just a directory ) provides a way of storing user information. Typically, this would be the user?s e-mail address and routing information, but it also could contain a range of other details, such as security.

A primary feature of a directory service is that it is distributed over the network and provides global access to any user or process. This compares to a more traditional method of using centralized storage to contain address details. The advantages of directory services should not be underestimated:


	?	Directory services cut down network traffic and access times by keeping relevant local information close to the group of users (each group would have...

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Chapter 4: Directory Services

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