Glossary

protocol

A set of rules that describes how devices on a network

 

exchange information.

protocol data unit

See PDU.

proxy authentication

A special form of authentication where the user requesting

 

access to the directory does not bind with its own DN but with a

 

proxy DN.

proxy DN

Used with proxied authorization. The proxy DN is the DN of an

 

entry that has access permissions to the target on which the

 

client-application is attempting to perform an operation.

PTA

Mechanism by which one Directory Server consults another to

 

check bind credentials. Also pass-through authentication.

PTA directory server

In pass-through authentication (PTA), the PTA Directory Server

 

is the server that sends (passes through) bind requests it

 

receives to the authenticating directory server.

PTA LDAP URL

In pass-through authentication, the URL that defines the

 

authenticating directory server, pass-through subtree(s), and

 

optional parameters.

R

RAM

Random access memory. The physical semiconductor-based

 

memory in a computer. Information stored in RAM is lost when

 

the computer is shut down.

rc.local

A file on Unix machines that describes programs that are run

 

when the machine starts. It is also called /etc/rc.local

 

because of its location.

RDN

The name of the actual entry itself, before the entry's ancestors

 

have been appended to the string to form the full distinguished

 

name. Also relative distinguished name.

referential integrity

Mechanism that ensures that relationships between related

 

entries are maintained within the directory.

referral

(1) When a server receives a search or update request from an

 

LDAP client that it cannot process, it usually sends back to the

 

client a pointer to the LDAP sever that can process the request.

 

(2) In the context of replication, when a read-only replica

 

receives an update request, it forwards it to the server that

 

holds the corresponding read-write replica. This forwarding

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