Hardware manual

30 Chapter 2 Inside Mac OS X Server
Open Directory
Open Directory is the Mac OS X directory services framework. It encompasses directory
services, authentication, and service discovery for Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server.
Directory services are the means by which a server and its clients (users and services)
locate and retrieve information needed for authentication, network resource discovery,
and other crucial system activities. User and group information is needed to
authenticate users when they log in and to authorize their access to services and files.
Information about network resources is used to make printers, computers, and other
devices visible for browsing.
Directory services retrieve this information from directories, repositories of information
about users and computing resources. Open Directory lets your server retrieve
information from:
 Directories on Mac OS X Server computers
 Directories on non-Apple servers
 Configuration files on Mac OS X Server or other servers
Open Directory also supports several protocols for discovering network resources:
 Multicast DNS
 Server Message Block/Common Internet File System (SMB/CIFS)
 AppleTalk
 Service Location Protocol (SLP)
The Open Directory administration guide provides complete details about how to set
up and use Open Directory. Some highlights of the many features that Open Directory
offers follow.
Using Mac OS X Server Directories
Mac OS X Server can host Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directories.
These are LDAPv3 directories that store shared directory data you want to be used by
other computers.
LDAP directories are easy to manage, can be replicated for performance and backup,
support a very high volume of information, and give you read-write control over
directory data.
Using Non-Apple Directories
Open Directory lets you take advantage of information you’ve already set up in non-
Apple directories and in flat files:
 On other LDAPv3 servers
 On Active Directory servers
 In BSD configuration files