Hello,

I am looking to learn about meta directories using ldap. So i am looking for a way to create a tree structure which wiull be somewhat dynamic, that has referrals (or aliases - whatever is possible) to a simpler structure in the same directory.

something like ("real" data which does not change it's position the DIT) :

o=real
    ou=unit x
         cn=some person
        ....
    ou=unit y
         cn=some other person

then have a vutual structure (whick is both liable and likely to change)

o=virtual
    ou=animal enthusiasts
        ou=dog fanciers
            ou=unit x (local referral to o=real, ou=unit x)

The intent is to have a "virtual" tree structure that represents a dynamic representation of an organisations's structure, that is presented to the real world, but have the actual data stored in a simple, static structure to minimise configuration change.

this would provide an accurate representation of the shifting organisational structure for presentation, but services which would be affected by this frequently moving organisation structure (web or proxy authentication etc.,) point to the static or "real" data so changes to the apparent organisational structure do not affect critical system services.

i was thinking this could be implemented by referrals from the "dynamic" part of the tree to the "static" part of the tree, but looking at the referral format it seems to require a hostname, which would in this case be it's own server.

i would suspect that it is not proper? for one server to refer to itself, but if it was, is there a syntax for a referral which does not require a hostname (or a way to specify a localtion in the local DIT) in the "ref" attribute,

alternatively is there a native alias mechanism which several other servers have, to graft (apparently for queries etc., not in reality) one part of an openldap server's tree to another ?

Cheers
Brett