Commercial Products Supporting LDAP

---

Commercial Products Supporting LDAP

As you are by now aware, ADSI is a relatively simple API used for managing multiple namespaces. By examining which products utilize an LDAP directory to store application information, you can also determine which products can be manipulated using ADSI.

At the time of this writing, the following products and Internet directories (among others not listed here) can be queried using ADSI's LDAP provider:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 (covered in Chapter 12, "Programmatic Management of the Windows 2000 Active Directory")

• Microsoft Exchange Versions 5.5 and higher

• Microsoft Site Server 3.0 (with Site Server Service Pack 2)

• Netscape Directory Server

• The BigFoot (ldap.bigfoot.com), InfoSpace (ldap.infospace.com), SwitchBoard (ldap.switchboard.com), VeriSign (directory.verisign.com), WhoWhere (ldap.whowhere.com) and Yahoo (ldap.yahoo.com) Internet directories

• Entrust PKI

Additionally, the Directory-Enabled Network standard proposals initiated by Cisco and Microsoft promise to deliver integration of network devices into LDAP directories.

LDAP directory implementation can serve as the much-needed bridge between systems by providing a common language and structure for storing application data, configuration parameters, and user information. Meanwhile, LDAP provides the capability for single-signon and a central X.509 certificate repository, which will be useful as e-commerce technologies continue to emerge.

---

Top