Red Hat DIRECTORY SERVER 8.1 - DEPLOYMENT Deployment Manual page 21

• Identify data sources.
Survey the enterprise and identify sources of data, such as Active Directory, other LDAP servers,
PBX systems, human resources databases, and email systems.
• Characterize the data the directory needs to contain.
Determine what objects should be present in the directory (for example, people or groups) and what
attributes of these objects to maintain in the directory (such as usernames and passwords).
• Determine the level of service to provide.
Decide how available the directory data needs to be to client applications, and design the
architecture accordingly. How available the directory needs to be affects how data are replicated and
how chaining policies are configured to connect data stored on remote servers.
Chapter 6, Designing the Replication Process
See
Section 5.1, "Topology Overview"
• Identify a data master.
A data master contains the primary source for directory data. This data might be mirrored to other
servers for load balancing and recovery purposes. For each piece of data, determine its data
master.
• Determine data ownership.
For each piece of data, determine the person responsible for ensuring that the data is up-to-date.
• Determine data access.
If data are imported from other sources, develop a strategy for both bulk imports and incremental
updates. As a part of this strategy, try to master data in a single place, and limit the number of
applications that can change the data. Also, limit the number of people who write to any given piece
of data. A smaller group ensures data integrity while reducing the administrative overhead.
• Document the site survey.
Because of the number of organizations that can be affected by the directory, it may be helpful to
create a directory deployment team that includes representatives from each affected organization to
perform the site survey.
Corporations generally have a human resources department, an accounting or accounts receivable
department, manufacturing organizations, sales organizations, and development organizations.
Including representatives from each of these organizations can help the survey process. Furthermore,
directly involving all the affected organizations can help build acceptance for the migration from local
data stores to a centralized directory.
2.3.1. Identifying the Applications That Use the Directory
Generally, the applications that access the directory and the data needs of these applications drive the
planning of the directory contents. Many common applications use the directory:
Identifying the Applications That Use the Directory
for more information about replication and
for more information on chaining.
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