NetIQ eDirectory
| Company type | Software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Directory services software |
| Predecessor | Novell Directory Services (NDS) |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Novell |
| Products | eDirectory |
| Owner | NetIQ (a division of OpenText) |
| Website | www |
eDirectory is a directory service software compatible with X.500, originally created by NetIQ (a division of OpenText) and previously owned by Novell. Launched in 1993 as Novell Directory Services (NDS) for NetWare 4, it succeeded the NetWare bindery by providing centralized management of resource access across numerous servers and computer systems within a network. Functioning as a hierarchical, object-oriented database, eDirectory models organizational entities—such as companies, departments, users, servers, applications, and groups—within a structured tree format.
Features
eDirectory utilizes dynamic inheritance of permissions for both broad and granular access control. Permission checks occur at the moment of request, taking into account an object's position, security equivalences, and explicit rights assignments. The system supports partitioning at any point in the directory tree and allows replication of these partitions to multiple servers through delta synchronization. Each server can act as the authoritative source for its data unless configured as a read-only replica. Additionally, replicas may be filtered to include only specific attributes, enhancing efficiency for scenarios like corporate address directories.
The platform incorporates referential integrity, multi-master replication, and a flexible authentication architecture. It provides connectivity through various protocols and APIs such as LDAP, DSML, SOAP, ODBC, JDBC, JNDI, and ADSI.
Supported platforms
- Windows 2000
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server 2012
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- Novell NetWare
- Sun Solaris
- IBM AIX
- HP-UX
Network configuration stored in the directory
eDirectory was engineered by Novell to maintain not only user identity data but also comprehensive server operational information. This encompasses objects that represent servers themselves along with the services they host, including LDAP or email systems.
Storage
Before version 8 (when it was still known as Novell Directory Services), eDirectory relied on the Recman record-oriented database engine supported by NetWare's Transaction Tracking System. Starting with version 8, both eDirectory and GroupWise (from version 5 onward) transitioned to using the FLAIM (FLexible Adaptable Information Management) database engine. Created by Novell and made available under the GPL license in 2006, FLAIM is an open-source embeddable database engine that facilitated cross-platform compatibility across Windows, Linux, and Unix environments.
Further reading
- Killpack, Rick. eDirectory Field Guide. Apress, 2005.
- Kuo, Peter and Jim Henderson. Novell's Guide to Troubleshooting eDirectory. Novell Press, 2004.
- Hughes, Jeffrey F. Novell's Cross Platform Guide to eDirectory. John Wiley & Sons, 2002.
- Hughes, Jeffrey F. Effective eDirectory Design & Proactive Analysis. Directory Design, 2001.