Specifications

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1 Directory Service Concepts
A directory service provides a central repository for
information about computer users and network
resources in an organization.
Storing administrative data in a central repository has many benefits:
• Reduces data entry effort.
• Ensures all network services and clients have consistent information about users and
resources.
• Simplifies administration of users and resources.
• Provides identification, authentication, and authorization services for other network
services.
In education and enterprise environments, directory services are the ideal way to
manage users and computing resources. Organizations with as few as 10 people can
benefit by deploying a directory service.
Directory services can be doubly beneficial. They centralize system and network
administration, and they simplify a user’s experience on the network. With directory
services, information about all the users—such as their names, passwords, and
locations of network home directories—can be maintained centrally rather than on
each computer individually. Directory services can also maintain centralized
information about printers, computers, and other network resources. Having
information about users and resources centralized can reduce the system
administrator’s user management burden. In addition, users can log in to any
authorized computer on the network. Anywhere a user logs in, the user can get the
same home directory, and with it the user’s personal desktop appears, customized for
the user’s individual preferences. The user always has access to personal files and can
easily locate and use authorized network resources.
LL2352.Book Page 13 Friday, August 22, 2003 3:12 PM