Directory Services Management

A Directory Service is a specialised Software Application that manages information about the resources available on a network and which users have access to. It is the basis for providing access to those resources and for ensuring that unauthorized access is detected and prevented.

Directory services view each resource as an object of the Directory Server and assign it a name. Each name is linked to the resources network address so that users don’t have to memorize confusing and complex addresses. Directory Services is based on the OSI’s X.500 standards and commonly uses protocols such as Directory Access Protocol (DAP) or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). LDAP is used to support user credentials for application login and often includes internal and external user/customer data which is especially good for extranet call logging. Since LDAP is a critical operational tool and generally kept up to date, it is also a good source of data and verification for the CMS.

Directory Services Management refers to the process that is used to manage Directory Services. Its activities include:

• Working as part of Service Design and Service Transition to ensure that new services are accessible and controlled when they are deployed.
• Locating resources on a network (If these have not already been defined during Service Design)
• Tracking the status of those resources and providing the ability to manage those resources remotely
• Managing the rights of specific users or groups of users to access resources on a network
• Defining and maintaining naming conventions to be used for resources on a network
• Ensuring consistency of naming and access control on different networks in the organisation
• Linking different Directory Services throughout the organisation to form a distributed Directory Service, i.e. users will only see one logical set of network resources. This is called Distribution of Directory Services
• Monitoring Events on the Directory Services, such as unsuccessful attempts to access a resource, and taking the appropriate action where required
• Maintaining and updating the tools used to manage Directory Services.