Make sure this course is going to teach you what you need to know about the Directory Server.
This is only an introductory course; its main purpose is to get you started. A more complete understanding of directory services will require you to take additional courses or read supplemental reference documents.
| # What This Course Covers
### Installation and configuration of Directory Server 4 Upon completion of this course you will be able to install and configure Netscape's Directory Server version 4.0 in a sandbox environment. The term "sandbox environment" refers to a test system functioning in a non-critical role. This could be your own personal desktop system or a machine in a testing lab or classroom. Your sandbox environment should be a system you can afford to make mistakes on. We strongly suggest you actually install the Server by following the step-by-step instructions presented in both of the Installation modules (Solaris and NT). This will require you to have a source for the Server software such as a CD-ROM or downloadable image from the network.
### Overview of directory services The other goal of this course is to provide you with a high level overview of directory services in general and Netscape's Directory Server version 4 in particular. Hopefully you'll achieve some level of conversational familiarity with this type of software and be able to speak intelligently about Netscape's entry in this category. The technology behind the Directory Server is based on a network protocol called LDAP: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. You'll learn some basic concepts about LDAP and how it relates to the Server. LDAP servers provide information to LDAP clients. This information is stored in a special type of database called a directory. You'll learn basic concepts about the structure of this type of database, including its strengths and weaknesses.
### Directory Server Administration We'll cover some of the common administrative tasks associated with the Server such as rotating log files and making backups. Some of these tasks fall under the category of System Administration; others are more like "content management" tasks or database administration. We'll show you how to populate the Server database with some sample entries and how to access them. You'll learn the purpose of the Server's various configuration files and how to modify them.

Copyright © 2000
Sun-Netscape Alliance