What I like about Directory Server 6
I’ve installed many, many Sun/Netscape/Fedora Directory Server instances. There has been plenty to like, and much to dislike as well. I’m big on not using the console for most things, as by nature, I’m a command line type person. The most compelling reasons for me to move to Directory Server 6:
Much improved command line functionality
It is now possible to install the directory server bits, create a new directory server instance, and perform configuration commands on the directory server using command line tools. While you could do some of the features before using things like an installation script, or using LDIF, these commands are called directly from the command line without superb internal knowledge of how to implement these functions.
As an example, creating a new directory server instance with pre-DS6 used to require either a trip to the console (if you were lucky enough to have enough access to the machine); or the use of an silent installation script.
By contrast, you are able to create a new instance with DS6 with a simple command (albeit, it does ask for the directory manager password) (these commands assume it was installed in /opt/ldap):
cd /opt/ldap/ds6/bin
./dsadm create -p 389 -P 636 /opt/ldap/slapd-test
And create a new suffix with another simple command (you’ll need the directory manager password):
cd /opt/ldap/ds6/bin
./dsconf create-suffix -h localhost ‘dc=domain,dc=com’
There are plenty of other examples that can be had, such as creating and initializing replication agreements, but those can be left for another day.
Unlimited number of masters in Multi-Master Replication
With the release of DS6, the number of masers in an MMR increased from a maximum of 4 to unlimited. This can result in each instance in your environment being promoted to a master instance. Practically, this may not suit all environments, as WAN traffic and such comes into play with how your replication agreements are configured.
I’ll probably revisit this topic again in the future.
