Managing suffixes

A suffix (also known as a naming context) is a DN that identifies the top entry in a locally held directory hierarchy. Because of the relative naming scheme used in LDAP, this DN is also the suffix of every other entry in that directory hierarchy. The embedded LDAP server can have multiple suffixes, each identifying a locally held directory hierarchy, for example, o=ibm,c=us.

About this task

The embedded LDAP server is pre-configured with a default suffix, dc=iswga, to make it easier to get started with the server. There is no requirement that you use this suffix. You can add your own suffixes and delete the pre-configured suffix.

There are two commonly used naming conventions for suffixes. One is based on the TCP/IP domain for your organization. The other is based on the organization's name and location. For example:

  • Given a TCP/IP domain of mycompany.com, you might choose a suffix like dc=mycompany,dc=com, where the dc attribute refers to the domain component.
  • If your company name is My Company and it is located in the United States, you might chose a suffix like one of the following examples:
    o=My Company
o=My Company,c=US
ou=Widget Division,o=My Company,c=US

    Where ou is the name for the organizationalUnit object class, o is the organization name for the organization object class, and c is a standard two letter country abbreviation used to name the country object class.

The following table lists the supported suffix elements and the corresponding object classes that are used when creating the top level entry for the suffix:

Table 1. Supported suffix elements. Supported suffix elements
Element Object class
dc domain
c country
o organization
ou organizationalUnit
l locality

Procedure

  1. From the top menu, select Web > Manage > Runtime Component.
  2. Select Manage > Embedded LDAP > Suffixes.
    All current suffixes are listed. You can then add or delete suffixes as needed.
  3. Follow the prompts to complete the action you want to take.