HP-UX Directory Server 8.1 configuration, command, and file reference

2 Core server configuration reference
The configuration information for the HP-UX Directory Server is stored as LDAP entries within
the directory itself. Therefore, changes to the server configuration must be implemented through
the use of the server itself rather than by simply editing configuration files. The principal
advantage of this method of configuration storage is that it allows a directory administrator to
reconfigure the server using LDAP while it is still running, thus avoiding the need to shut the
server down for most configuration changes.
This chapter gives details on how the configuration is organized and how to alter it. The chapter
also provides an alphabetical reference for all attributes.
2.1 Overview of the Directory Server configuration
When the Directory Server is set up, its default configuration is stored as a series of LDAP entries
within the directory, under the subtree cn=config. When the server is started, the contents of
the cn=config subtree are read from a file (dse.ldif) in LDIF format. This dse.ldif file
contains all the server configuration information. The latest version of this file is called dse.ldif,
the version prior to the last modification is called dse.ldif.bak, and the latest file with which
the server successfully started is called dse.ldif.startOK.
Many of the features of the Directory Server are designed as discrete modules that plug into the
core server. The details of the internal configuration for each plug-in are contained in separate
entries under cn=plugins,cn=config. For example, the configuration of the Telephone Syntax
Plug-in is contained in this entry:
cn=Telephone Syntax,cn=plugins,cn=config
Similarly, database-specific configuration is stored under cn=ldbm
database,cn=plugins,cn=config for local databases and cn=chaining
database,cn=plugins,cn=config for database links.
The following diagram illustrates how the configuration data fits within the cn=config directory
information tree.
Figure 2-1 Directory information tree showing configuration data
2.1.1 LDIF and schema configuration files
The Directory Server configuration data is automatically output to files in LDIF format that are
located in the /etc/opt/dirsrv/slapd-instance_name directory. Thus, if a server identifier
is phonebook, then for a Directory Server, the configuration LDIF files are all stored under
/etc/opt/dirsrv/slapd-phonebook.
2.1 Overview of the Directory Server configuration 17