Summary and Lessons Learned

Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services > 23. Case Study: Netscape Communications Corporation > Summary and Lessons Learned

<  BACK CONTINUE  >
153021169001182127177100019128036004029190136140232051053054012003011160122127124094254

Summary and Lessons Learned

Netscape's directory deployment has been a great success on two fronts. First, the company has benefited in the ways you've probably come to expect from a directory service having read the earlier chapters of this book. For example, business processes are streamlined, particularly the process of getting the computing environment for a new hire up and running. The deployment has also met its goal of being a useful testbed for the Netscape Directory Server and the directory-enabled applications that Netscape develops.

In any complex process such as deploying a directory, there is always some room for improvement. Here are a few words of advice based on lessons learned during the directory deployment at Netscape:

  • Obtain buy-in from senior management early in the planning process. This can help ensure that you obtain the necessary cooperation from other departments that are crucial to the success of the directory deployment.

  • Plan the directory namespace well in advance. It will become increasingly difficult to change the namespace as the directory gains momentum and becomes more and more essential to business processes.

  • Pay particular attention to privacy needs of your directory users. It's best to obtain the opinion of your legal department when deciding which attributes will be available in the directory. Allow sufficient time for review.

  • Even if your directory software allows you to disable schema checking, it's almost always a mistake to deploy the directory this way. Leaving schema checking enabled improves the quality of your directory data.

  • Start early when planning for synchronization with external data sources, especially when those sources are owned by another group within your organization. Try to get the other groups to fully communicate the structure of those data sources so that you don't miss important data repositories when migrating data into the directory.

  • Do not work in a vacuum . Include as many participants as possible in the initial design phase for data synchronization, work process changes, resulting information changes, and user interface development. This ensures that everything is covered and helps provide buy-in to the project.



Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services,  2002 New Riders Publishing
<  BACK CONTINUE  >

2002, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.



Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services
Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0672323168
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 1997
Pages: 245

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net