Utilizing a Virtual Directory to Perform As LDAP Firewall

Author: optima0100 | Posted: 27.03.2012

A virtual directory may also be used as LDAP firewall and proxy. In this case, it can be used to create management point for failover and load balancing. You can specify the load-balance property that could balance the searches across several servers and much more importantly, manage and identify an instance wherein one server or more is not available. If a server is not available, the virtual directory directs the queries into those that are available until such time that the server will become available once again.

A technique that gives centralized logging all over directory servers is hardly available therefore a virtual directory is one that will give consolidated view of separate directories making it appear as though the data comes from a single directory. A virtual directory server or VDS will provide different levels of logging but will keep the logs in similar place.

If you have access to several directories using proxy, you can start gaining consolidated or unified view of your directories. In order for you to obtain centralized view in helping you solve problems on security, you can redirect the queries through a proxy on a specified time and use the type of query in directing it to the right host. As a result, you can gain a view of the type of queries.

Today there are many vendors in the market for virtual directory but some of them have really fantastic and impressive features aside from the basic ones such as seamless and real time consolidation of data and most importantly, the ability of it to act as firewall or proxy for added security to your directories. In fact, organizations need not to use separate proxy only to make sure their databases are protected. This is because the virtual directory will provide it for them.

In advanced virtual directories, they have the capability of migrating from your current directory server like Sun directory server into another platform like an LDAP database. It has the qualities that could imitate the present directory server you are using making it possible for your data to be migrated from it.

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