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LDAP System Administration
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Author: Gerald Carter
List Price: $39.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 1565924916
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates (20 March, 2003)
Edition: Paperback
Sales Rank: 3,092
Average Customer Rating: 3.2 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 2 out of 5
"Lightweight" LDAP book
First of all, be advised that this book only covers OpenLDAP. Although this was exactly what I was using, it makes more sense for the book to be retitled so as not to set the wrong expectations. Now, I'll talk about what this book does well.The book does an adequate job of explaining the whole installation process. It actually does miss the fact that when installing LDAP, you need to set two environment variables if your Berkeley DB location is non-standard. After a little searching, I found this on the web. Along these lines, it was good with explaining what your directory structure would look like after your install (which is helpful, as OpenLDAP blasts things all over the place) and how to start and stop the server. It also mentions various ways to set security levels and hashing techniques to make sure that your password is not stored in cleartext. So why only two stars? The overall theme of this book is that it is extremely light on information. If you're the kind of person that likes a little handholding, do NOT get this book! On almost every topic, you'll be left saying, "Okay, where's the next example on this topic?", only to be left hanging. Creating custom schemas was covered in TWO pages (pgs 95-97)! There's no mention of integrating LDAP with the various app servers out there today (Java Servlet/Bean containers, PHP, ASP, etc.). None! Again, I had to search the web to find out how to do this. This led me to binding errors that, once again, the book did not address. Again (this will be a recurring theme), I found the answers on the net. I hate to say it but there is nothing that this book provides that can not be found on the web very easily. It doesn't provide that golden nugget that you couldn't find anywhere else. Within a week, you'll have scrubbed it for all it's worth and will rely 100% on the web for info that the book should provide. Which brings up another point. It's annoying to spend nearly $30 on a book to constantly have the author tell you "For more information on this subject, look at reference..."). On two separate occasions I found myself saying, "Wait a minute! Why should I need another reference book for basic LDAP info? I thought I bought an LDAP book already!" Trust me guys, this book is not worth buying at any price. I'm looking to sell mine now!
Rating: 2 out of 5
Not worth buying--outdated material
If your objective is to learn the ins & outs of configuring and implementing Openldap, don't bother buying this book as you will not learn anything more than what you could have easily found through google in about 3 minutes. If your objective is learning the conceptual aspects of ldap in general, much better books exist. Bottem Line: Weak examples, superficial explanations, outdated material. Save your money.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Excellent resource for system admins
Excellent book for people without previous LDAP knowledge. In fact I bought 12 of them for my organization. This is a ractical guide for various components of LDAP. It covers most of the areas that LDAP will have impact. I agree with one review that the information is only true for OpenLDAP. It has a different story if you use Sun ONE LDAP or other LDAP servers.
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