As organisations have expanded, and moved from just using telephones to email and web based systems, so the comon telephone directory has needed to expand and grow. In the 1980s telecoms companies developed the X.500 specification, which is a suite of protocols to create and share a directory of information.

X.500 directory services were accessed via the X.500 Directory Access Protocol (DAP) which used the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) protocol stack. As organisations [spi]began|started[/spin] to use TCP/IP networks, many found the complexity of managing a large OSI/DAP infrastructure too much. The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) was developed to access X.500 directory servers via TCP/IP.

An LDAP directory server uses the concept of an organisational hierarchy to organise information, which can include usernames, telephone numbers, office locations, photos, and more. This directory structure can be based on a company’s structure, making LDAP directories an obvious fit for replacing an organisation’s phonebook. The initial X.500 specification was deliberately designed with this scalable organisation of information in mind, which is one of the main factors behind the success of LDAP.

With the introduction of Voice Over IP (VOIP) systems an entire company’s information can exist within LDAP, allowing access from email clients, instant messaging applications, and HR systems. Even products such as Microsoft’s Active Directory utilise LDAP and X.500 directory structures. LDAP’s power makes it an part of any company infrastructure.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!