Throughout this book LDAP URLs have been used for various purposes.
In Chapter 4 we used LDAP URLs to perform searches in the authz-regexp
directive in slapd.conf
.
While a full LDAP URL, as we examined, can be a useful way to formulate a search, this is probably not the primary use of LDAP URLs. More commonly the LDAP URL syntax is simplified and used to capture only basic information.
In Chapter 3 we used LDAP URLs to connect to SLAPD from the ldapsearch
utility, but we were not using the LDAP URL as a way to specify a search string. In many cases in fact, an LDAP URL may be used simply to provide protocol, host, and port information in one convenient string:
ldap://example.com:646
In this example the LDAP URL provides sufficient information for a client to use the plain LDAP protocol when connecting to the server Example.Com
on the non-standard port 646.
Directory referrals, handled in the slapd.conf
file by the referral directive, also use LDAP URL syntax, but only use the protocol, domain, and port settings.
LDAP URLs then, are used for two main purposes, and the purpose of each determines the form:
LDAP search URLs follow the sophisticated eight-field format, and can convey all the information needed for an LDAP agent to perform a search
LDAP connection URLs utilize only protocol, host, and port information, and are used mainly to convey information about how to connect to a directory
There are currently no LDAP URL forms for modifying or deleting LDAP records.