Comments about the Most Important LDAP RFCs

---

RFC3377: "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (v3): Technical Specification": Defines the set of RFCs comprising the Directory Access Protocol v3.

RFC2251: "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (v3)": Defines the protocol itself, particularly the specification of what really travels on the wire. This is the heart of the LDAP RFCs.

RFC2252: "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (v3): Attribute Syntax Definitions": Describes the syntax of attribute definitions and contains a list of attributes a server should implement. It classifies the different attribute types that LDAP knows and lists the standard matching rules to use in comparisons. It also describes how the attribute values should be encoded into strings to be transmitted over the wire.

RFC2253: "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (v3): UTF-8 String Representation of Distinguished Names": The LDAP protocol transmits messages in the form of strings; however, Distinguished Names can contain characters that have to be converted before transmission. Examples are reserved characters or language-specific characters. This RFC describes how Distinguished Names are converted into string and how strings are converted back into Distinguished Names.

RFC2254: "The String Representation of LDAP Search Filters": This RFC replaces RFC1960, extending the string filter definition. It defines the syntax of a filter expression and how to convert a filter in a string expression.

RFC2255: "The LDAP URL Format": The URL format of an LDAP search can be used in every Web browser. This URL defines the syntax of the URL format. It also defines how a client should parse and resolve the LDAP URL to a search expression.

RFC2256: "A Summary of the X.500 User Schema for Use with LDAPv3": LDAP inherits a large part of the schema of X.500. This RFC defines a set of object classes and attribute types that should be implemented in a directory server.

RFC2829: "Authentication Methods for LDAP": The first LDAP RFCs did not specify anything about authentication. This RFC specifies which authentication methods should be implemented in an LDAP server.

RFC2830: "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (v3): Extension for Transport Layer Security": TLS is defined as a so-called extended operation in LDAP. This RFC describes how to establish a TLS session using the LDAP protocol.

---