Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services > 5. Defining Your Directory Needs |
Chapter 5. Defining Your Directory NeedsDirectory needs encompass all the reasons for designing and deploying a directory service. Before beginning work on any task, it is a good idea to understand why you are working on it and what you hope to accomplish. Ask yourself why you decided to deploy a directory service. These are some possible answers:
No matter what the initial impetus, your directory service ultimately must serve the needs of applications and people, and it should be designed with those needs in mind. Your design will likely be evaluated based on how well it serves these needs; therefore, it is very important to understand the needs up front. It is also important to choose a directory design and deployment approach that fits your situation well. A variety of organizational and environmental constraints, along with the preferences of the design and deployment team itself, determines what approach works best. A successful approach also balances short- term needs with the need to lay a good foundation for future use of the directory service. This chapter will help you gather and organize information on all the different needs and constraints that affect the design of your directory service. After working throughthe material in this chapter, you should be able to produce a good first draft of a directory requirements document. You will also be able to begin to form a project plan for your directory design and deployment effort. This chapter begins with an overview of the needs definition process and then helps you analyze the environment in which you will deploy the directory service. Then we discuss needs and constraints that come from a variety of sources: the directory applications, the users, the deployment process and team, and the environment within your organization. Next, we talk about how to choose an overall approach that fits your needs and situation, and we finish up with a discussion of how to set good goals and milestones for your directory design and deployment project.
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Index terms contained in this sectiondirectoriesneeds needs directories 2nd |
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