LDAP-UX Client Services B.05.01 Administrator Guide for HP directory servers and Windows ADS

9.5 Schema extension utility
9.5.1 Overview
A directory schema is a collection of attribute type definitions, object class definitions and other
information supported by a directory server. Schema controls the type of data that can be stored
in a directory server. Although there are some recommended schemas that came originally from
the X.500 standards, mostly for representing individuals and organizations, there is no universal
schema standard in place for every possible application. Also, there is no standard method for
installing the schema definition on a directory server. To support a particular schema definition,
LDAP developers are required to manually create schema definition files in the specific format
tailored for each version of a supported directory server. They also have to create a custom install
program for each variety of directory servers.
To address these issues, LDAP-UX Client Services supports the schema extension utility. This tool
queries the current status of the LDAP schema on an LDAP directory server and extends the LDAP
server schema with new schema definitions. This tool enables creation of a schema definition in a
general format, that can be installed on a number of different directory servers types (such as HP-UX
Directory Server, Red Hat Directory Server, Windows Active Directory Server, and so forth). A user
with valid directory server administration privileges can use this tool to query and extend schema
definitions stored in an XML schema definition file into the LDAP directory server.
9.5.1.1 Benefits of the schema extension tool
The schema extension tool provides the following benefits:
• Assists application developers to easily install their application schemas to the LDAP directory
server.
• Supports automated schema integration into the directory server environment.
• Extends the LDAP directory server schema with new schema definitions dynamically using the
schema extension tool, or stores schema extension instructions in the specified file (usually in
LDIF format) so the schema can be extended into the directory server manually.
• Reduces user effort in schema extension.
• Simplifies schema management.
9.5.2 How the schema extension utility works
The schema extension utility, /opt/ldapux/bin/ldapschema, automatically maps a custom
schema definition in a general purpose format to the schema definition format required by the
specific LDAP directory server. The HP-UX Directory Server, Red Hat Directory Server, and Windows
Active Directory Server (ADS) are fully supported by the ldapschema tool.
The schema extension utility extends the LDAP directory server with new object classes and attribute
types specified in a schema definition file. This utility extends only object classes and attribute types
that are not yet defined in a directory server schema. No new matching rules or syntaxes can be
installed on a directory server using this tool. If any attribute types specified in the new schema
definition use matching rules or syntaxes that are not defined in the LDAP directory server, the
schema extension tool maps these attribute types using alternate matching rules and syntaxes the
directory server supports. If no alternate matching rule or syntax is found on an LDAP directory
server, the default substitute matching rule or syntax will be used instead. For more information
about matching rules and syntaxes, see Section 9.5.7 (page 373).
The schema definitions are stored in an XML format file. This enables you to specify a general
schema definition that can be extended on different types and versions of directory servers. For
more information, see Section 9.5.4 (page 365), Section 9.5.4.2 (page 366) and Section 9.5.4.4
(page 368).
9.5 Schema extension utility 359