Specifications

16 Chapter 1 Directory Service Concepts

Other application and system software processes can also use the user account

information stored in directory domains. When someone attempts to log in to a

Mac OS X computer, the login process uses Open Directory services to validate the user

name and password.

A Historical Perspective

Like Mac OS X, Open Directory has a UNIX heritage. Open Directory provides access to

administrative data that UNIX systems have generally kept in configuration files, which

require much painstaking work to maintain. (Some UNIX systems still rely on

configuration files.) Open Directory consolidates the data and distributes it for ease of

access and maintenance.