Network Working Group                                    J;. Sermersheim
Internet-Draft                                               Novell, Inc
Updates: 2251 (if approved)                                    July 2004
Expires: December 30, 2004


               Subordinate Subtree Search Scope for LDAP
              draft-sermersheim-ldap-subordinate-scope-00.txt

Status of this Memo

   This document is an Internet-Draft and is subject to all provisions
   of section 3 of RFC 3667.  By submitting this Internet-Draft, each
   author represents that any applicable patent or other IPR claims of
   which he or she is aware have been or will be disclosed, and any of
   which he or she become aware will be disclosed, in accordance with
   RFC 3668.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups.  Note that
   other groups may also distribute working documents as
   Internet-Drafts.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt.

   The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.

   This Internet-Draft will expire on December 30, 2004.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).

Abstract

   The Lightweight Directory Application Protocol (LDAP) specification
   supports three scope values for the search operation -- namely:
   baseObject, singleLevel, and wholeSubtree.  This document introduces
   a subordinateSubtree scope which constrains the search scope to all
   subordinates of the named base object.

Discussion Forum



Sermersheim            Expires December 30, 2004                [Page 1]


Internet-Draft    Subordinate Subtree Search Scope for LDAP    July 2004


   Technical discussion of this document will take place on the IETF
   LDAP Extensions mailing list <ldapext@ietf.org>.  Please send
   editorial comments directly to the author.

1.  Overview

   There are a number of reasons which have surfaced for introducing a
   Lightweight Directory Application Protocol (LDAP) [RFC3377]
   SearchRequest.scope [RFC2251] which constrains the search scope to
   all subordinates of the named base object, and does not include the
   base object (as wholeSubtree does).  These reasons range from the
   obvious utility of allowing an LDAP client application the ability to
   exclude the base object from a wholeSubtree search scope, to
   distributed operation applications which require this scope for
   progressing search sub-operations resulting from an nssr DSE type
   reference.

   To meet these needs, the subordinateSubtree scope value is
   introduced.

   The subordinateSubtrees cope is applied to the SearchRequest.scope
   field, the <scope> type and alternately the <extension> type of the
   LDAP URL [RFC2255] and may be applied to other specifications which
   include an LDAP search scope.  A mechanism is also given which allows
   LDAP Directory Server Agents (DSA)s to advertise support of this
   search scope.

2.  Application to SearchRequest.scope

   A new item is added to this ENUMERATED type.  The identifier is
   subordinateSubtree and the number is 4.

   A DSA which receives and supports the subordinateSubtree
   SearchRequest.scope constrains the search scope to all subordinate
   objects.

   A DSA which receives but does not support the subordinateSubtree
   SearchRequest.scope returns a protocolError resultCode in the
   SearchResultDone.

3.  LDAP URL applications

   The LDAP URL [RFC2255] specification allows the conveyance of a
   search scope.  This section intoduces two ways in which the
   subordinateScope search scope may be conveyed in an LDAP URL.  One
   way is by allowing a new "subord" scope in the <scope> part.  Another
   way is through the introduction of an LDAP URL extension.  The LDAP
   URL extension method is preferred for its criticality semantics.



Sermersheim            Expires December 30, 2004                [Page 2]


Internet-Draft    Subordinate Subtree Search Scope for LDAP    July 2004


3.1  Application to LDAP URL <scope>

   A new <scope> value of "subord" is added.  Using the <scope> type
   from LDAP URL [RFC2255], the ABNF is as follows:

   scope /= "subord"

   Implementations processing but which do not understand or support the
   "subord" <scope> of an LDAP URL raise an appropriate error.

3.2  Application to LDAP URL <extension>

   An LDAP URL <extension> mechanism is introduced here.  The <extype>
   is IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.1 or the descriptor 'subordScope', and the
   exvalue is omitted.  The extension may be marked as either critical
   or non-critical.

   If supported, the subordScope extension overrides any value set in
   the <scope> field.

4.  DSA Advertisement of support

   A DSA may advertise its support of the subordinateSubtree item in the
   SearchRequest.scope by inclusion of IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.2 in the
   'supportedFeatures' attribute of the root DSE.

5.  Security Considerations

   This specification introduces no security concerns above any
   associated with the existing wholeSubtree search scope value.

   As with the wholeSubtree search scope, this scope specifies that a
   search be applied to an entire subtree hierarchy.  Implementations
   should be aware of the relative cost of using or allowing this scope.

6  Normative References

   [RFC2251]  Wahl, M., Howes, T. and S. Kille, "Lightweight Directory
              Access Protocol (v3)", RFC 2251, December 1997.

   [RFC2255]  Howes, T. and M. Smith, "The LDAP URL Format", RFC 2255,
              December 1997.

   [RFC3377]  Hodges, J. and R. Morgan, "Lightweight Directory Access
              Protocol (v3): Technical Specification", RFC 3377,
              September 2002.

   [RFC3383]  Zeilenga, K., "Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)



Sermersheim            Expires December 30, 2004                [Page 3]


Internet-Draft    Subordinate Subtree Search Scope for LDAP    July 2004


              Considerations for the Lightweight Directory Access
              Protocol (LDAP)", BCP 64, RFC 3383, September 2002.


Author's Address

   Jim Sermersheim
   Novell, Inc
   1800 South Novell Place
   Provo, Utah  84606
   USA

   Phone: +1 801 861-3088
   EMail: jimse@novell.com

Appendix A.  IANA Considerations

   Registration of the following values is requested [RFC3383].

A.1  LDAP Object Identifier Registrations

   It is requested that IANA register upon Standards Action an LDAP
   Object Identifier in identifying the protocol elements defined in
   this technical specification.  The following registration template is
   provided:

      Subject: Request for LDAP OID Registration
      Person & email address to contact for further information:
         Jim Sermersheim
         jimse@novell.com
      Specification: RFCXXXX
      Author/Change Controller: IESG
      Comments:
      2 delegations will be made under the assigned OID:
         IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.1 subordScope LDAP URL extension
         IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.2 subordinateScope Supported Feature

A.2  LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registrations

   It is requested that IANA register upon Standards Action the LDAP
   protocol mechanism described in this document.  The following
   registration templates are given:

      Subject: Request for LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registration
      Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.1
      Description: subordScope LDAP URL extension
      Person & email address to contact for further information:




Sermersheim            Expires December 30, 2004                [Page 4]


Internet-Draft    Subordinate Subtree Search Scope for LDAP    July 2004


         Jim Sermersheim
         jimse@novell.com
      Usage: Extension
      Specification: RFCXXXX
      Author/Change Controller: IESG
      Comments: none

A.3  LDAP Descriptor Registrations

   It is requested that IANA register upon Standards Action the LDAP
   descriptors described in this document.  The following registration
   templates are given:

      Subject: Request for LDAP Descriptor Registration
      Descriptor (short name): subordScope
      Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.1
      Person & email address to contact for further information:
         Jim Sermersheim
         jimse@novell.com
      Usage: URL Extension
      Specification: RFCXXXX
      Author/Change Controller: IESG
      Comments: none




























Sermersheim            Expires December 30, 2004                [Page 5]


Internet-Draft    Subordinate Subtree Search Scope for LDAP    July 2004


Intellectual Property Statement

   The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
   Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to
   pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
   this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
   might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has
   made any independent effort to identify any such rights.  Information
   on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be
   found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any
   assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an
   attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
   such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
   specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at
   http://www.ietf.org/ipr.

   The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
   copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
   rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement
   this standard.  Please address the information to the IETF at
   ietf-ipr@ietf.org.


Disclaimer of Validity

   This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
   "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS
   OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
   ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
   INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
   INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
   WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.


Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).  This document is subject
   to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and
   except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights.


Acknowledgment

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
   Internet Society.




Sermersheim            Expires December 30, 2004                [Page 6]