Network Working Group M. Wahl
Internet-Draft Informed Control Inc.
Intended status: Standards Track August 30, 2006
Expires: March 3, 2007
LDAP Administrator Address Attribute
draft-wahl-ldap-adminaddr-02
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Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).
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Abstract
Organizations running multiple directory servers need an ability for
administrators to determine who is responsible for a particular
server. An attribute, conceptually similar to the 'sysContact'
object of SNMP, is defined which can retrieved from the directory
server using the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.
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1. Introduction
This document defines an optional attribute for use in LDAP [1].
This attribute was originally defined in the mid-1990s for inclusion
in the LDAPv3 data model, but was omitted from the LDAPv3 root DSE
specification as there was only one implementation of a server
supporting that attribute at that time.
The words "MUST", "SHOULD" and "MAY" are used as defined in RFC 2119
[2].
Please send comments to the author at mark.wahl@informed-control.com.
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2. The administratorsAddress attribute
This attribute allows a server administrator to provide the contact
information of the responsible party for an LDAP server or naming
context. This can be used by management clients which are, for
example, checking the state of a replication or referral topology, to
provide a way for the user of the management client to send email to
manager of a particular server.
The attribute is defined as follows (with lines wrapped for
readability):
( 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.101.120.1 NAME 'administratorsAddress'
SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.26
USAGE directoryOperation )
This attribute can contain one or more values, and each value is a
URI [3]. Each URI is encoded using the IA5 string syntax [5].
Unlike the labeledURI attribute [6], these values do not have a
label.
This document only specifies how a client can read this attribute.
Some servers MAY support updating this attribute over protocol,
subject to access control, however for many servers it is anticipated
that the values of this attribute would be configured through the
server's out-of-band management interface, such as in a configuration
file.
In existing practice, this URI is commonly of the 'mailto:' form
identifying a role mail address, such as
"mailto:helpdesk@example.com".
To obtain the responsible party for a directory server, the attribute
is read from the root DSE, using a baseObject search as described in
RFC 4512 [4].
To obtain the responsible party for a naming context, the attribute
is read from the entry at the base of the naming context. Note that
these addresses need not be the same as that of the directory server
administrator, or of a data administrator.
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3. Security Considerations
The server's access control policy SHOULD allow this information to
be visible to any suitable administrator in the same organization.
Since one use of this attribute is to find who is responsible if the
server is not making authentication decisions properly, it MAY be
visible to all users who are permitted to access the directory
server. The administrator SHOULD choose addresses for use in this
attribute that are already publically known within the organization,
and SHOULD NOT encode passwords or other secret information within
the URIs.
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4. IANA Considerations
This attribute will be registered as follows:
Subject: Request for LDAP Descriptor Registration
Descriptor: administratorsAddress
Object Identifier: 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.101.120.1
Person & email address to contact for further information:
Mark Wahl <Mark.Wahl@informed-control.com>
Usage: attribute type
Specification: (I-D) RFC XXXX
Author/Change Controller: Mark Wahl
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5. Acknowledgments
The contents of this document is based on earlier work of the ASID
Working Group of the IETF. The contributions of its members is
greatly appreciated.
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6. References
6.1. Normative References
[1] Zeilenga, K., "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP):
Technical Specification Road Map", RFC 4510, June 2006.
[2] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
Levels", RFC 2119, BCP 14, March 1997.
[3] Berners-Lee, T., "Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic
Syntax", RFC 1738, STD 66, January 2005.
[4] Zeilenga, K., "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP):
Directory Information Models", RFC 4512, June 2006.
[5] Legg, S., "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP):
Syntaxes and Matching Rules", RFC 4517, June 2006.
6.2. Informative References
[6] Smith, M., "Definition of an X.500 Attribute Type and Object
Class to Hold Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs)", RFC 2079.
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Appendix A. Copyright
Copyright (C) The Internet Society 2006. 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. 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.
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Author's Address
Mark Wahl
Informed Control Inc.
PO Box 90626
Austin, TX 78709
US
Email: mark.wahl@informed-control.com
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Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).
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.
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.
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Wahl Expires March 3, 2007 [Page 11]
