NetWare Directory Services

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Understanding NetWare Directory Services
The Hierarchical Directory Tree
The Hierarchical Directory Tree
NetWare Directory Services (NDS) was developed as a hierarchical design
with multiple levels of organizational units, users, groups, and network
resources. This hierarchical structure is referred to as the Directory tree. The
Directory tree is formed by organizing objects in a multilevel structure.
NDS and the X.500 Specification
NetWare Directory Services is consistent with the emerging international
standard, X.500. The X.500 specification was developed by the CCITT
(Consultative Committee for Telegraphy and Telephony) to provide a
standard method for organizing information that is accessed transparently on
a global basis.
Information such as telephone directories, corporate organizational
structures, and directories of available services are all accessible through
products compatible with this specification.
Much of the current development for accessing services on the global
internetwork is being done according to the X.500 specification.
Directory Schema
The NDS Directory tree is defined by a set of rules called the Directory
schema. The schema defines the specific way information is stored in the
Directory database.
The following information is defined by the schema:
• Object classes. Provide the basis for all entries in an NDS database. The set of
defined object classes is referred to as the base schema. For example, servers,
users, and print queues are some of the base object classes defined by the base
schema.
• Attribute information. Describes the additional information an object can or
must have associated with it. Attribute types (or properties) are defined within the
schema by specific constraints and a specific syntax for their values.