
While there are container objects that contain objects, the ends of a tree hierarchy branch into individual leaf objects. In addition, attributes can be single- or multi-valued, depending on the type. Attributes that make up an object each have a specific type, identified by abbreviations such as cn (common name), st (state), or sn (surname). The structure of the Distinguished Name is similar to file naming conventions and prevents identical objects on one level. An independent LDAP directory entry (LDAP object) is composed of attributes and the mandatory object name ‘Distinguished Name’. LDAP uses an object-orientated programming approach, which includes objects, classes, inheritance, and associated polymorphism. Queries to the directory run through LDAP servers, also called Directory System Agents (DSA), which can distribute queries to additional DSA servers, but guarantee users a fast, efficiently abstracted response. The LDAP directory can exist on LDAP servers as a replicated complete version that synchronises changes to the original. The tree hierarchy, in turn, breaks down or branches out into various representative political, geographic, or organisational levels as follows: The standardisation is done by the respective schema of object classes and their attributes. LDAP configurations use a standardised hierarchical tree structure (DIT) for directories and data structure, which can be distributed over many servers. Standard ports for data transfers are port 389 for unsecured data transfers and port 636 for TLS encrypted data transfers.
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It is particularly common in areas and industries that need to process and manage large amounts of data and information, such as telecommunications, aviation, IT, and hardware and software development. For the transport of data, it can use TCP and UDP ports. LDAP is based on a TCP/IP protocol stack and can be used flexibly for any directory system.

Since DAP is too complex for effective implementation in large enterprises with extensive user data, LDAP is often used in practice. The ‘lightweight’ comes from the fact that it is considered a lightweight variant of the DAP access protocol (Directory Access Protocol) specified according to X.500.

In this context, the term LDAP server is often used when directory servers communicate via the LDAP protocol.

LDAP, written out ‘Lightweight Directory Access Protocol’, belongs to the group of network protocols and is used as a standardised access protocol for queries and changes according to the client-server model in distributed, central directory services.
