In this writing, I will tell you about OID - acronym for Oracle Internet Directory. Guys, it is a bit tough and confusing in understanding OID in the start but once OID is understood its a childs play. Oracle does have complex products and OID is one of them but I bet it is the best among the LDAP implementations.
Let us share our views about OID first as FAQs. We will then look into the configuration of 10g and then 9i (I dont give preference in configuring the older versions but dont worry we will have writing on that too - ;) )
1. What is OID ?
OID is a
LDAP implementation by Oracle Corporation. It is more than a just mere LDAP server. It can store all the user details, organization details and object details in some cases. It can be used via standard LDAP commands like ldapsearch, ldapadd to search the entities within it.
Oracle always goes with the Standards as it did with OID. Oracle Internet Directory helps in better organization of data and the resources. It can be implemented in an organization as a single source of truth.
Other major competitors to OID are Microsoft's Active Directory, Sun's SunOne Directory and others.
2. Whats the use of OID ?When a company needs a database which holds all the user information and can act as a single source of truth, LDAP can be implemented. OID is the best choice as it is very easy to configure, manage and work.
3. Why only OID ?i) OID is built as a hierarchical tree which is easy to understand and navigate.
ii) OID is created in Java from scratch. So, can run on any of the platforms with same look and feel.
iii) OID data is stored in Oracle database and due to the fact of Oracle Database capabilities, it can handle enormous amounts of data,
iv) OID can retrieve data within seconds due to enterprise search inbuilt in the database.
v) OID can be integrated with any other LDAP implementations and also can be implemented with any of the Oracle Applications seemlessly.
vi) OID can be managed locally as well as remotely i.e., via both Web and also via a client software.
4. How can I install OID (or) from where do I start from ?There is a catch here.
For Oracle 9i:OID (both server and client software) by default comes with Oracle Database 9i Enterprise Software disks. We need to choose Enterprise option while installing OID or choose Custom select OID.
Oracle 10g (9.0.4 and above):
From Oracle 10g (9.0.4 and above versions are called 10g versions), OID server is no longer shipped with Database instead it is shipped with 10g iAS.
When we install Oracle 10g database, we do get a directory called ldap but they are only supporting files for LDAP i.e., we get the JAR files to launch the Swing UI - the local client (Swing UI) thait s shipped with Oracle 10g database software disks. We dont get the OID server with 10g Database disks.In order to
install OID 10g, we need to install from
10g iAS CDs.
5. I have Oracle 10g IAS CDs and trying to install OID. Which option do I choose for installing OID ?
We need to choose
OracleAS Infrastructure 10g option and choose
Identity Management and Metadata repository inorder to install the OID server.
6. Which port does OID run at ?
OID runs at two ports by default : non-SSL : 389 and SSL : 636
Hang on, still some more of the questions .. coming on your way.
Apps Unlimited - Easy to Define .. Easy to Learn. What say ? :)
