Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services > 22. Directory Coexistence > Why Is Coexistence Important? |
Why Is Coexistence Important?In Chapter 17, "Maintaining Data," we discussed the importance of managing directory data to keep it accurate and up-to-date. The reasons are simple, and they all boil down to increasing the usefulness of the directory service. The arguments for directory coexistence are along similar lines, but they are motivated by the state of your enterprise. Chances are that you already have many directories, databases, and other data sources deployed in your organization. Following is a partial list of the common sources you might already have:
All of these data sources serve a purpose (or did at one time). Some of them may be in the process of being phased out. Others are probably there to stay. Why should you be concerned about making your directory service coexist with these legacy data sources? Following are several reasons:
Directory coexistence is often the biggest problem directory administrators face. Lack of directory coexistence can lead to user complaints, spiraling data management costs, and an ineffective and unpopular directory service. It's important to address this issue in your directory deployment, or at least to convince yourself that you don't need to.
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Index terms contained in this section/etc/passwd file (UNIX)coexistence Active Directory coexistence ad hoc databases directory coexistence Address Book directory coexistence applications directories coexistence avoiding duplicate data directory coexistence user confusion directory coexistence Banyan StreetTalk directory coexistence clients data directory coexistence coexistence (directories) application-specific directories client data databases corporate home-grown duplicate data, avoiding ease of maintenance increasing usefulness OS directories 2nd user confusion, avoiding corporate databases directory coexistence data directory coexistence application-specific directories client data corporate databases duplicate date, avoiding ease of maintenance home-grown databases increasing usefulness OS directories 2nd user confusion, avoiding databases directory coexistence:corporate directory coexistence:home-grown directories coexistence application-specific directories client data corporate databases duplicate data, avoiding ease of maintenance home-grown databases increasing usefulness OS directories 2nd user confusion, avoiding duplicate data directory coexistence avoiding home-grown databases directory coexistence Lotus Notes Name directory coexistence maintenance data directory coexistence Microsoft Active Directory coexistence Microsoft Exchange directory coexistence NIS service coexistence Novell Directory Services directory coexistence Novell GroupWise directory coexistence operating systems directories coexistence StreetTalk directory coexistence UNIX /etc/passwd file coexistence users directory coexistence avoiding confusion |
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