LDAP-UX Integration Performance and Tuning Guidelines

Note: Raw data and a client load tool from the HP performance test lab are available at the
end of this document to support the sample data presented in this table.
In order to achieve peak performance it’s critical that the directory server be configured properly. Please also
review “Preparing your LDAP Directory for HP-UX Integration
,”
3
mentioned above, for directory performance
tuning guidelines.
Since first publishing this document, the LDAP-UX product now include the ldapclientd cache daemon. Updated
performance characteristics are described in this document. If performance characteristics of the LDAP-UX
Integration product change significantly, HP will continue update this white paper.
Document Flow
In order to understand how many HP-UX clients an LDAP directory server can support, we discover all the factors
that affect performance and then determine how to measure and calculate the impact of those factors. This paper
describes a three-step process:
1. Discover what factors affect performance. This includes understanding the design of the LDAP-UX product, as
well as how that design puts demand on the directory server.
2. Determine how to measure those factors and calculate the impact on the LDAP server.
3. Knowing the performance factors, determine how to tune and configure the LDAP-UX product to minimize the
impact on the directory.
Product Architecture
This section describes the internals of the LDAP-UX Integration product and identifies what operations on the client
cause load on the directory server.
Product components
The LDAP-UX Integration product consists of two sub products: The NIS/LDAP Gateway and the native
LDAP-UX Integration Client. Both these products serve similar purposes. They act as Name Service subsystems
for HP-UX. Both sub products allow storage of a shared repository for Posix-style data (such as user account
information.) This shared storage is accessed over the network, using the LDAP.
The NIS/LDAP Gateway acts as a protocol gateway between an NIS client and an LDAP directory server.
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