2 Network Working Group J. Sermersheim
3 Internet-Draft Novell, Inc
4 Expires: August 26, 2005 February 22, 2005
8 Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations
9 draft-sermersheim-ldap-distproc-02.txt
15 This document is an Internet-Draft and is subject to all provisions
16 of Section 3 of RFC 3667. By submitting this Internet-Draft, each
17 author represents that any applicable patent or other IPR claims of
18 which he or she is aware have been or will be disclosed, and any of
19 which he or she become aware will be disclosed, in accordance with
23 Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
24 Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that
25 other groups may also distribute working documents as
29 Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
30 and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
31 time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
32 material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
35 The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
36 http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt.
39 The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
40 http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.
43 This Internet-Draft will expire on August 26, 2005.
49 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).
55 This document provides the data types and procedures used while
56 servicing Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) user
57 operations in order to participate in a distributed directory. In
58 particular, it describes the way in which an LDAP user operation in a
59 distributed directory environment finds its way to the proper DSA(s)
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74 Technical discussion of this document will take place on the IETF
75 LDAP Extensions mailing list <ldapext@ietf.org>. Please send
76 editorial comments directly to the author.
82 1. Distributed Operations Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
83 2. Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
84 3. Distributed Operation Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
85 3.1 ContinuationReference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
86 3.2 ChainedRequest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
87 3.3 Chained Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
88 4. Distributed Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
89 4.1 Name resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
90 4.2 Operation Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
91 4.3 Populating the ContinuationReference . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
92 4.4 Sending a ChainedRequest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
93 4.5 Emulating the Sending of a ChainedRequest . . . . . . . . . 23
94 4.6 Receiving a ChainedRequest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
95 4.7 Returning a Chained Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
96 4.8 Receiving a Chained Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
97 4.9 Returning a Referral or Intermediate Referral . . . . . . . 27
98 4.10 Acting on a Referral or Intermediate Referral . . . . . . . 30
99 4.11 Ensuring non-existence of an entry under an nssr . . . . . . 31
100 4.12 Mapping a referralURI to an LDAP URI . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
101 4.13 Using the ManageDsaIT control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
102 5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
103 6. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
104 Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
105 A. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
106 A.1 LDAP Object Identifier Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
107 A.2 LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . 35
108 A.3 LDAP Descriptor Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
109 A.4 LDAP Result Code Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
110 Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements . . . . . . . 39
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131 1. Distributed Operations Overview
134 One characteristic of X.500-based directory systems [X500] is that,
135 given a distributed Directory Information Tree (DIT), a user should
136 potentially be able to have any service request satisfied (subject to
137 security, access control, and administrative policies) irrespective
138 of the Directory Service Agent (DSA) to which the request was sent.
139 To accommodate this requirement, it is necessary that any DSA
140 involved in satisfying a particular service request have some
141 knowledge (as specified in {TODO: Link to future Distributed Data
142 Model doc}) of where the requested information is located and either
143 return this knowledge to the requester or attempt to satisfy the
144 request satisfied on the behalf of the requester (the requester may
145 either be a Directory User Agent (DUA) or another DSA).
148 Two modes of operation distribution are defined to meet these
149 requirements, namely "chaining" and "returning referrals".
150 "Chaining" refers to the attempt by a DSA to satisfy a request by
151 sending one or more chained operations to other DSAs. "Returning
152 referrals", is the act of returning distributed knowledge information
153 to the requester, which may then itself interact with the DSA(s)
154 identified by the distributed knowledge information. It is a goal of
155 this document to provide the same level of service whether the
156 chaining or referral mechanism is used to distribute an operation.
159 The processing of an operation is talked about in two major phases,
160 namely "name resolution", and "operation evaluation". Name
161 resolution is the act of locating a local DSE held on a DSA given a
162 distinguished name (DN). Operation evaluation is the act of
163 performing the operation after the name resolution phase is complete.
166 While distributing an operation, a request operation may be
167 decomposed into several sub-operations.
170 The distributed directory operation procedures described in this
171 document assume the absense of the ManageDsaIT control defined in
172 [RFC3296] and described in Section 4.13.
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196 Imperative keywords defined in [RFC2119] are used in this document,
197 and carry the meanings described there.
200 All Basic Encoding Rules (BER) [X690] encodings follow the
201 conventions found in Section 5.1 of [RFC2251].
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252 3. Distributed Operation Data Types
255 The data types in this section are used by the chaining and referral
256 distributed operation mechanisms described in Section 4
259 3.1 ContinuationReference
262 As an operation is being processed by a DSA, it is useful to group
263 the information passed between various procedures as a collection of
264 data. The ContinuationReference data type is introduced for this
265 purpose. This data type is populated and consumed by various
266 procedures discussed in various sections of this document. In
267 general, a ContinuationReference is used when indicating that
268 directory information being acted on is not present locally, but may
269 be present elsewhere.
272 A ContinuationReference consists of one or more addresses which
273 identify remote DSAs along with other information pertaining both to
274 the distributed knowledge information held on the local DSA as well
275 as information relevant to the operation. This data type is
276 expressed here in Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) [X680].
279 ContinuationReference ::= SET {
280 referralURI [0] SET SIZE (1..MAX) OF URI,
281 localReference [2] LDAPDN,
282 referenceType [3] ReferenceType,
283 remainingName [4] RelativeLDAPDN OPTIONAL,
284 searchScope [5] SearchScope OPTIONAL,
285 searchedSubtrees [6] SearchedSubtrees OPTIONAL,
286 failedName [7] LDAPDN OPTIONAL,
290 <Editor's Note: Planned for addition is a searchCriteria field which
291 is used both for assuring that the remote object is in fact the
292 object originally pointed to (this mechanism provides a security
293 measure), and also to allow moved or renamed remote entries to be
294 found. Typically the search criteria would have a filter value of
295 (entryUUID=<something>)>
298 URI ::= LDAPString -- limited to characters permitted in URIs
302 ReferenceType ::= ENUMERATED {
306 nonSpecificSubordinate (3),
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319 immediateSuperior (6),
322 SearchScope ::= ENUMERATED {
326 subordinateSubtree (3),
330 SearchedSubtrees ::= SET OF RelativeLDAPDN
333 LDAPDN, RelativeLDAPDN, and LDAPString, are defined in [RFC2251].
336 The following subsections introduce the fields of the
337 ContinuationReference data type, but do not provide in-depth
338 semantics or instructions on the population and consumption of the
339 fields. These topics are discussed as part of the procedural
343 3.1.1 ContinuationReference.referralURI
346 The list of referralURI values is used by the receiver to progress
347 the operation. Each value specifies (at minimum) the protocol and
348 address of one or more remote DSA(s) holding the data sought after.
349 URI values which are placed in ContinuationReference.referralURI must
350 allow for certain elements of data to be conveyed. Section 3.1.1.1
351 describes these data elements. Furthermore, a mapping must exist
352 which relates the parts of a specified URI to these data elements.
353 This document provides such a mapping for the LDAP URL [RFC2255] in
357 In some cases, a referralURI will contain data which has a
358 counterpart in the fields of the ContinuationReference (an example is
359 where the referralURI is an LDAP URL, holds a <scope> value, and the
360 ContinuationReference.searchScope field is also present). In these
361 cases, the data held on the referralURI overrides the field in the
362 ContinuationReference. Specific examples of this are highlighted in
363 other sections. Providing a means for these values to exist as
364 fields of the ContinuationReference allows one value to be applied to
365 all values of referralURI (as opposed to populating duplicate data on
366 all referralURI values).
369 If a referralURI value identifies an LDAP-enabled DSA [RFC3377], the
370 LDAP URL form is used.
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381 3.1.1.1 Elements of referralURI Values
384 The following data elements must be allowed and identified for a
385 specified URI type to be used to convey referral information. Each
386 element is given a name which begins with 'referralURI.' for clarity
387 when referencing the elements conceptually in other parts of this
391 o referralURI.protocolIdentifier. There must be an indication of
392 the protocol to be used to contact the DSA identified by the URI.
393 o referralURI.accessPoint. The URI must identify a DSA in a manner
394 that can be used to contact it using the protocol specified in
396 o referralURI.targetObject. Holds the name to be used as the base
397 DN of the operation being progressed. This field must be allowed
398 by the URI specification, but may be omitted in URI instances for
400 o referralURI.localReference. See Section 3.1.2. This field must
401 be allowed by the URI specification, but may be omitted in URI
402 instances for various reasons.
403 o referralURI.searchScope. See Section 3.1.5. This field must be
404 allowed by the URI specification, but may be omitted in URI
405 instances for various reasons.
406 o referralURI.searchedSubtrees. See Section 3.1.6. This field must
407 be allowed by the URI specification, but may be omitted in URI
408 instances for various reasons.
409 o referralURI.failedName. See Section 3.1.7. This field must be
410 allowed by the URI specification, but may be omitted in URI
411 instances for various reasons.
414 3.1.2 ContinuationReference.localReference
417 This names the DSE which was found to hold distributed knowledge
418 information, and thus which caused the ContinuationReference to be
419 formed. This field is primarily used to help convey the new target
420 object name, but may also be used for purposes referential integrity
421 (not discussed here). In the event that the root object holds the
422 distributed knowledge information, this field is present and is
423 populated with an empty DN.
426 3.1.3 ContinuationReference.referenceType
429 Indicates the DSE Type of the ContinuationReference.localReference.
430 This field may be used to determine how to progress an operations
431 (i.e. if the value is nonSpecificSubordinate, a search continuation
432 will exclude the ContinuationReference.referenceType).
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444 3.1.4 ContinuationReference.remainingName
447 In certain scenarios, the localReference does not completely name the
448 DSE to be used as the new target object name. In these cases,
449 remainingName is populated with the RDNSequence relative to the
450 localReference of the target object name being resolved. Some
451 examples of these scenarios include (but are not restricted to):
454 o During name resolution, the name is not fully resolved, but a DSE
455 holding distributed knowledge information is found, causing a
456 ContinuationReference to be generated.
457 o While searching, an alias is dereferenced. The aliasedObjectName
458 points to a DSE of type glue which is subordinate to a DSE holding
459 distributed knowledge information.
462 3.1.5 ContinuationReference.searchScope
465 Under certain circumstances, when progressing a search operation, a
466 search scope different than that of the original search request must
467 be used. This field facilitates the conveyance of the proper search
468 scope to be used when progressing the distributed operation.
471 The scope of subordinateSubtree has been added to the values allowed
472 by the LDAP SearchRequest.scope field. This scope includes the
473 subtree of entries below the base DN, but does not include the base
474 DN itself. This is used here when progressing distributed search
475 operations caused by the existence of a DSE of type nssr.
478 If a referralURI.searchScope is present, it overrides this field
479 while that referralURI is being operated upon.
482 3.1.6 ContinuationReference.searchedSubtrees
485 For ContinuationReferences generated while processing a search
486 operation with a scope of wholeSubtree, each value of this field
487 indicates that a particular subtree below the target object has
488 already been searched. Consumers of this data use it to cause the
489 progression of the search operation to exclude these subtrees as a
490 mechanism to avoid receiving duplicate entries.
493 If a referralURI.searchedSubtrees is present, it overrides this field
494 while that referralURI is being operated upon.
497 3.1.7 ContinuationReference.failedName
500 When an operation requires that multiple names be resolved (as is the
501 case with the ModifyDN operation), this field is used to specify
502 which name was found to be non-local.
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512 If a referralURI.failedName is present, it overrides this field while
513 that referralURI is being operated upon.
519 The Chained Request is sent as an LDAP extended operation. The
520 requestName is IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.1. The requestValue is the BER
521 encoding of the following ChainedRequestValue ASN.1 definition:
524 ChainedRequestValue ::= SEQUENCE {
527 chainingArguments ChainingArguments,
528 operationRequest OperationRequest }
531 ChainingArguments ::= SEQUENCE {
534 targetObject [0] LDAPDN OPTIONAL,
535 referenceType [1] ReferenceType,
536 traceInformation [2] ChainingTraceInformation,
537 searchScope [3] SearchScope OPTIONAL,
538 searchedSubtrees [4] SearchedSubtrees OPTIONAL}
541 ChainingTraceInformation ::= SET OF LDAPURL
544 OperationRequest ::= SEQUENCE {
550 bindRequest BindRequest,
551 searchRequest SearchRequest,
552 modifyRequest ModifyRequest,
553 addRequest AddRequest,
554 delRequest DelRequest,
555 modDNRequest ModifyDNRequest,
556 compareRequest CompareRequest,
557 extendedReq ExtendedRequest,
559 controls [0] Controls COPTIONAL }
562 BindRequest, SearchRequest, ModifyRequest, AddRequest, DelRequest,
563 ModifyDNRequest, CompareRequest, ExtendedRequest and Controls are
564 defined in [RFC2251].
567 3.2.1 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments
570 In general, these fields assist in refining the original operation as
571 it is to be executed on the receiving DSA.
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582 3.2.1.1 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.targetObject
585 This field contains the new target (or base) DN for the operation.
588 The sending DSA populates this under different scenarios including
589 the case where an alias has been dereferenced while resolving the DN,
590 and also the case where a referral carries a target name different
591 from the reference object that caused the referral.
594 This field can be omitted only if it would be the the same value as
595 the object or base object parameter in the
596 ChainedRequestValue.operationRequest, in which case its implied value
600 The receiving DSA examines this field and (if present) uses it rather
601 than the base DN held in the ChainedRequestValue.operationRequest.
604 3.2.1.2 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.referenceType
610 If the receiver encounters a value of nonSpecificSubordinate in this
611 field, it indicates that the operation is being chained due to DSE of
612 type nssr. In this case, the receiver allows (and expects) the base
613 DN to name the immediate superior of a context prefix.
616 3.2.1.3 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.traceInformation
619 This contains a set of URIs. Each value represents the address of a
620 DSA and DN that has already been contacted while attempting to
621 service the operation. This field is used to detect looping while
622 servicing a distributed operation.
625 The sending DSA populates this with its own URI, and also the URIs of
626 any DSAs that have already been chained to. The receiving DSA
627 examines this list of URIs and returns a loopDetect error if it finds
628 that any of the addresses and DNs in the listed URI's represent it's
632 3.2.1.4 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.searchScope
638 3.2.1.5 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.searchedSubtrees
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653 3.2.2 ChainedRequestValue.operationRequest
656 This holds the original LDAP operation request. This is restricted
657 to a subset of all LDAP operations. Namely, the following LDAP
658 operation types are not allowed:
661 o Abandon/Cancel operations. When an abandon or cancel operation
662 needs to be chained, it is sent to the remote DSA as-is. This is
663 because there is no need to track it for loop detection or pass on
664 any other information normally found in ChainingArguments.
665 o Unbind. Again, there is no need to send chaining-related
666 information to a DSA to perform an unbind. DSAs which chain
667 operations maintain connections as they see fit.
668 o Chained Operation. When a DSA receives a chained operation, and
669 must again chain that operation to a remote DSA, it sends a
670 ChainedRequest where the ChainedRequestValue.operationRequest is
671 that of the incoming ChainedRequestValue.operationRequest.
677 The Chained Response is sent as an LDAP IntermediateResponse
678 [RFC3771], or LDAP ExtendedResponse [RFC2251], depending on whether
679 the operation is complete or not. In either case, the responseName
680 is omitted. For intermediate responses, the
681 IntermediateResponse.responseValue is the BER encoding of the
682 ChainedIntermediateResponseValue ASN.1 definition. For completed
683 operations, the ExtendedResponse.value is the BER encoding of the
684 ChainedFinalResponseValue ASN.1 definition.
687 ChainedIntermediateResponseValue ::= SEQUENCE {
690 chainedResults ChainingResults,
691 operationResponse IntermediateResponse }
694 ChainedFinalResponseValue ::= SEQUENCE {
697 chainedResults ChainingResults,
698 operationResponse FinalResponse }
701 ChainingResults ::= SEQUENCE {
704 searchedSubtrees [0] SearchedSubtrees OPTIONAL,
708 IntermediateResponse ::= SEQUENCE {
711 Response ::= CHOICE {
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723 searchResEntry SearchResultEntry,
724 searchResRef SearchResultReference,
725 intermediateResponse IntermediateResponse
727 controls [0] Controls COPTIONAL }
730 FinalResponse ::= SEQUENCE {
733 Response ::= CHOICE {
736 bindResponse BindResponse,
737 searchResDone SearchResultDone,
738 modifyResponse ModifyResponse,
739 addResponse AddResponse,
740 delResponse DelResponse,
741 modDNResponse ModifyDNResponse,
742 compareResponse CompareResponse,
743 extendedResp ExtendedResponse,
745 controls [0] Controls COPTIONAL }
748 BindResponse, SearchResultEntry, SearchResultDone,
749 SearchResultReference, ModifyResponse, AddResponse, DelResponse,
750 ModifyDNResponse, CompareResponse, ExtendedResponse, and Controls are
751 defined in [RFC2251]. IntermediateResponse is defined in [RFC3771].
754 3.3.1 ChainingResults
757 In general, this is used to convey additional information that may
758 needed in the event that the operation needs to be progressed
762 3.3.1.1 ChainingResults.searchedSubtrees
765 Each value of this field indicates that a particular subtree below
766 the target object has already been searched. This is particularly
767 useful while chaining search operations during operation evaluation
768 caused by the presence of a DSA of type nssr. Each DSA referenced by
769 the nssr holds one or more naming contexts subordinate to the nssr
770 DSE. The ChainingResults.searchedSubtrees field allows the DSA being
771 chained to, to inform the sending DSA which subordinate naming
772 contexts have been searched. This information may be passed to
773 further DSAs listed on the nssr in order to reduce the possibility of
774 duplicate entries being returned.
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787 3.3.2 ChainedIntermediateResponseValue.intermediateResponse and
788 ChainedFinalResponseValue.finalResponse
791 This holds the directory operation response message tied to the
792 ChainedRequestValue.operationRequest.
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845 4. Distributed Procedures
848 For the purposes of describing a distributed operation, operations
849 are said to consist of two major phases -- name resolution and
850 operation evaluation. These terms are adopted from [X518]. Name
851 resolution is the act of locating a DSE said to be held locally by a
852 DSA given a distinguished name (DN). Operation evaluation is the act
853 of performing the operation after the name resolution phase is
857 Furthermore, there are two modes of distributing an operation --
858 chaining, and returning referrals. Chaining is the act of forwarding
859 an unfinished operation to another DSA for completion (this may
860 happen during name resolution or operation evaluation). In this
861 case, the forwarding DSA sends a chained operation to a receiving
862 DSA, which attempts to complete the operation. Alternately, the DSA
863 may return a referral (or intermediate referral), and the client may
864 use that referral in order to forward the unfinished operation to
865 another DSA. Whether the operation is distributed via chaining or
866 referrals is a decision left to the DSA and or DUA.
869 The term 'intermediate referral' describes a referral returned during
870 the operation evaluation phase of an operation. These include
871 searchResultReferences, referrals returned with an
872 intermediateResponse [RFC3771], or future referrals which indicate
873 that they are intermediate referrals.
876 An operation which is distributed while in the operation evaluation
877 phase is termed a 'sub-operation'.
880 This document inserts a step between the two distributed operation
881 phases in order to commonize the data and processes followed prior to
882 chaining an operation or returning a referral. This step consists of
883 populating a ContinuationReference data type.
889 Before evaluating (enacting) most directory operations, the DSE named
890 by the target (often called the base DN) of the operation must be
891 located . This is done by evaluating the RDNs of the target DN one
892 at a time, starting at the rootmost RDN. Each RDN is compared to the
893 DSEs held by the DSA until the set of RDNs is exhausted, or an RDN
897 If the DSE named by the target is found to be local, the name
898 resolution phase of the operation completes and the operation
899 evaluation phase begins.
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910 If it is found that the target does not name a local DSE nor a DSE
911 that may held by another DSA, it is said that the target does not
912 exist, and the operation fails with noSuchObject (subject to local
916 If it is found that the DSE named by the target is non-local to the
917 DSA, but may reside elsewhere, name resolution is said to be
918 incomplete. In this case, the operation may be distributed by
919 creating a ContinuationReference (Section 4.3) and either chaining
920 the operation (Section 4.4 and Section 4.5)or returning a referral
924 4.1.1 Determining that a named DSE is local to a DSA
927 If a DSE held by a DSA falls within a naming context held by the DSA,
928 or is the root DSE on a first-level DSA, it is said to be local to
932 4.1.2 Determining that a named DSE does not exist
935 A named DSE is said to not exist if, during name resolution the DSE
936 is not found, but if found it would fall within a naming context held
940 4.1.3 Determining that a named DSE is non-local
943 If a named DSE is niether found to be local to the DSA, nor found to
944 not exist, it is said to be non-local to a DSA. In this case, it is
945 indeterminate whether the named DSE exists.
948 When a named DSE is found to be non-local, there should be
949 distributed knowledge information available to be used to either
950 return a referral or chain the operation.
953 4.1.3.1 Locating distributed knowledge information for a non-local
957 If it has been determined that a target names a non-local DSE,
958 distributed knowledge information may be found by first examining the
959 DSE named by the target, and subsequently all superior DSEs beginning
960 with the immediate superior and ending with the root, until an
961 examined DSE is one of types:
964 {TODO: should DSE types be all caps? It would be easier to read.}
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982 The examined DSE which is of one of these types holds the distributed
983 knowledge information for the non-local named target. This DSE is
984 said to be the found distributed knowledge information of the
985 non-local target. This found distributed knowledge information may
986 then be used to distribute the operation.
989 If no examined DSEs are of any of these types, the distributed
990 knowledge information is mis-configured, and the error
991 invalidReference is returned.
994 4.1.4 Special case for the Add operation
997 During the name resolution phase of the Add operation, the immediate
998 parent of the base DN is resolved.
1001 If the immediate parent of the entry to be added is a DSE of type
1002 nssr, then further interrogation is needed to ensure that the entry
1003 to be added does not exist. Methods for doing this are found in
1004 Section 4.11. {TODO: don't make this mandatory. Also, it doesn't
1005 work without transaction semantics. Same prob in the mod dn below.}.
1008 4.1.5 Special case for the ModifyDN operation
1011 When the modifyDN operation includes a newSuperior name, it must be
1012 resolved as well as the base DN being modified. If either of these
1013 result in a non-local name, the name causing the operation to be
1014 distributed should be conveyed (Section 4.3.5). {TODO: also mention
1015 access control problems, and mention (impl detail) that
1016 affectsmultidsa can be used.}
1019 If during operation evaluation of a ModifyDN operation, the
1020 newSuperior names a DSE type of nssr, then further interrogation is
1021 needed to ensure that the entry to be added does not exist. Methods
1022 for doing this are found in Section 4.11.
1025 4.2 Operation Evaluation
1028 Once name resolution has completed. The DSE named in the target has
1029 been found to be local to a DSA. At this point the operation can be
1030 carried out. During operation evaluation distributed knowledge
1031 information may be found that may cause the DSA to distribute the
1032 operation. When this happens, the operation may be distributed by
1033 creating a ContinuationReference (Section 4.3) and either chaining
1034 the operation (Section 4.4 and Section 4.5)or returning a referral
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1045 If, during the location of the distributed knowledge information, the
1046 distributed knowledge information is found to be mis-configured,
1047 operation semantics are followed (some operations may call for an
1048 error to be returned, while others call for the error to be ignored).
1049 {TODO: either make this more specific, or less specific, or just toss
1053 4.2.1 Search operation
1056 During operation evaluation of a search operation, the DSA must
1057 determine whether there is distributed knowledge information in the
1058 scope of the search. Any DSE in the search scope which is of the
1059 following types is considered to be 'found distributed knowledge
1060 information' {TODO: use a better term than found distributed
1061 knowledge information} in the search scope:
1065 o nssr (see nssr note)
1066 o xr {TODO: I think xr only qualifies when an alias is dereferenced
1067 to an xr. Otherwisw, there should always be a subr above the xr
1068 if it falls in the search scope.}
1071 Note that due to alias dereferencing, the search scope may expand to
1072 include entries outside of the scope originally specified in the
1073 search operation. {TODO: note that an aliased object may be glue
1074 which needs to result in any subr or xr above it to be found}
1077 Nssr Note: A DSE of type nssr is only considered to be found
1078 distributed knowledge information when the scope of the search
1079 includes entries below it. For example, when the search scope is
1080 wholeSubtree or subordinateSubtree and a DSE of type nssr is found in
1081 the scope, or if the search scope is singleLevel and the target
1082 object names a DSE of type nsssr.
1085 {TODO: The following sections are talking about how the continuation
1086 reference is to be populated. Move to next secion. Can probably
1087 just say that whole subtree or subordinare subtree encountering nssr,
1088 and single level rooted at nssr result in a continuation reference.
1089 base at, and single level above do not result in a continuation
1093 4.2.1.1 Search operation with singleLevel scope
1096 If distributed knowledge information is found during operation
1097 evaluation of a search with a singleLevel scope, it will cause the
1098 resulting ContinuationReference.searchScope to be set to baseObject.
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1110 4.2.1.2 Search operation encountering nssr knowledge reference
1113 When a search operation encounters distributed knowledge information
1114 which is a DSE type of nssr during operation evaluation, the
1115 following instructions are followed:
1118 Note that when a search operation is being progressed due to nssr
1119 knowledge information, the subsequent distributed progression of the
1120 search is caused to be applied to each DSA listed as non-specific
1121 knowledge information (This is talked about in Section 4.3.2). In
1122 the event that multiple DSAs listed in the knowledge information hold
1123 copies of the same directory entries, the 'already searched' and
1124 'duplicate elimination' mechanisms SHOULD be used to prevent
1125 duplicate search result entries from ultimately being returned.
1128 4.2.1.2.1 wholeSubtree search scope
1131 When the search scope is wholeSubtree, the
1132 ContinuationReference.searchScope is set to subordinateSubtree.
1133 Because the ContinuationReference.referrenceType is set to
1134 nonSpecificSubordinate, the receiving protocol peer allows (and
1135 expects) name resolution to stop at an immsupr DSE type which is
1136 treated as a local DSE. The subordinateSubtree scope instructs the
1137 receiving protocol peer to exclude the target object from the
1141 4.2.1.2.2 singleLevel search scope
1144 When the search scope is singleLevel, and the base DN is resolved to
1145 a DSE of type nssr, subsequent distributed progressions of the search
1146 are caused to use the same base DN, and a scope of singleLevel.
1147 Receiving protocol peers will only apply the search to entries below
1151 When the search scope is singleLevel and an evaluated DSE is of type
1152 nssr, no special handling is required. The search is applied to that
1153 DSE if it is of type entry.
1156 4.2.1.2.3 baseObject search scope
1159 No special handling is needed when the search scope is baseObject and
1160 the base DN is an nssr DSEType. The search is applied to that DSE if
1161 it is of type entry.
1164 4.2.1.3 Search operation rooted at an nssr DSE type
1167 (TODO: a subordinateSubtree scope needs to change to wholeSubtree if
1168 references are found.)
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1178 4.3 Populating the ContinuationReference
1181 When an entry is found to be non-local to a DSA (whether during name
1182 resolution or operation evaluation), the DSA prepares for operation
1183 distribution by generating a ContinuationReference. This is a
1184 conceptual step, given to help explain the interactions that occur
1185 between discovering that an operation must be distributing, and
1186 actually invoking the operation distribution mechanism.
1187 Implementations are not required to perform this step, but will
1188 effectively work with the same information.
1191 After the ContinuationReference has been created, the DSA may choose
1192 to chain the operation or return a referral (or intermediate
1196 the ContinuationReference is made up of data held on the found
1197 distributed knowledge information, as well as state information
1198 gained during name resolution or operation evaluation.
1201 4.3.1 Conveying the Target Object
1204 The consumer of the ContinuationReference will examine various fields
1205 in order to determine the target object name of the operation being
1206 progressed. The fields examined are the localReference and
1210 If name resolution did not complete, and the found distributed
1211 knowledge information names the same DSE as the base DN of the
1212 operation, the ContinuationReference MAY omit the localReference
1213 and/or remainingName fields.
1216 localReference is populated with the name of the found distributed
1217 knowledge information DSE. In the event that the root object holds
1218 the distributed knowledge information, this field will be populated
1219 with an empty DN. Contrast this with the omission of this field.
1222 referenceType is populated with a value reflecting the reference type
1223 of the localReference DSE.
1226 remainingName is populated with the RDNSequence which has not yet
1227 been resolved. This is the difference between the localReference
1228 value and the name of the DSE to be resolved.
1231 In cases where the DSE named by the {TODO, use a dash or different
1232 term to make 'found distributed knowledge' more like a single term}
1233 found distributed knowledge is not the same as the base DN of the
1234 operation, the ContinuationReference must contain the localReference
1235 and/or remainingName fields. Such cases include but are not limited
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1248 o Distributed knowledge information is found during operation
1250 o Aliases were dereferenced during name resolution.
1251 o Name resolution did not complete and there were remaining RDNs to
1255 4.3.2 Conveying the Remote DSA
1258 The referralURI field must contain at least one value. Each
1259 referralURI value must hold a referralURI.accessPoint. Other
1260 requirements on this field as noted may also apply.
1263 Note for nssr DSE types: During operation evaluation, if a DSE of
1264 type nssr causes the operation to be distributed (the scenarios in
1265 Section 4.2.1.2 are an example), then an intermediate referral {TODO:
1266 this is talking about referral/intermediate referral, but this
1267 section is only dealing with populating continuation reference} is
1268 returned for each value of the ref attribute, where each intermediate
1269 referral only holds a single referralURI value.
1272 4.3.3 Conveying new search scope
1275 During the evaluation of the search operation, the instructions in
1276 Section 4.2.1.2.1 and Section 4.2.1.2.2 are followed and the
1277 searchScope field is updated with the new search scope.
1280 4.3.4 Preventing duplicates
1283 In order to prevent duplicate entries from being evaluated while
1284 progressing a search operation, the searchedSubtrees field is
1285 populated with any naming context below the
1286 ContinuationReference.targetObject which have been fully searched.
1289 During the evaluation of the search operation, if the scope is
1290 wholeSubtree, it is possible that the DSA may search the contents of
1291 a naming context which is subordinate to another naming context which
1292 is subordinate to the search base (See figure).
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1329 In this figure, the DSA holds the naming context X and C,Y,X, but not
1330 Y,X. If the search base was X, an intermediate referral would be
1331 returned for Y,X. The DSA holding Y,X may also hold a copy of C,Y,X.
1332 In this case, the receiver of the ContinuationReference benefits by
1333 knowing that the DSA already searched C,Y,X so that it can prevent
1334 other DSAs from returning those entries again.
1337 Data already searched is in the form of an RDNSequence, consisting of
1338 the RDNs relative to the target object.
1341 4.3.5 Conveying the Failed Name
1344 At least one DS operation (modifyDN) requires that multiple DNs be
1345 resolved (the entry being modified and the newSuperior entry). In
1346 this case, the failedName field will be populated with the DN being
1347 resolved which failed name resolution. This may aid in the
1348 determination of how the operation is to be progressed. If both
1349 names are found to be non-local, this field is omitted.
1352 4.4 Sending a ChainedRequest
1355 When an entry is found to be non-local to a DSA (whether during name
1356 resolution or operation evaluation), the DSA may progress the
1357 operation by sending a chained operation to another DSA (or DSAs).
1358 The instructions in this section assume that a ContinuationReference
1359 has been generated which will be used to form the ChainedRequest. It
1360 is also assumed that it can be determined whether the operation is
1361 being progressed due to name resolution or due to operation
1365 A DSA which is able to chain operations may advertise this by
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1375 returning a value of IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.2; in the supportedFeatures
1376 attribute on the root DSE. {TODO: does this and discovery of the
1377 extended op belong in a new 'discovery mechanisms' sections.}
1380 4.4.1 Forming a ChainedRequest
1383 The following fields are populated as instructed:
1386 4.4.1.1 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.targetObject
1389 The ContinuationReference may convey a new target object. If
1390 present, the ContinuationReference.localReference field becomes the
1391 candidate target object. Otherwise the candidate target object is
1392 assumed to be that of the original directory operation. Note that an
1393 empty value in the ContinuationReference.localReference field denotes
1397 After performing the above determination as to the candidate target
1398 object, any RDNSequence in ContinuationReference.remainingName is
1399 prepended to the determined candidate target object. This value
1400 becomes the ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.targetObject. If
1401 this value matches the value of the original operation, this field
1405 4.4.1.2 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.referenceType
1408 This is populated with the
1409 ContinuationReference.referralURI.referenceType.
1412 4.4.1.3 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.traceInformation
1415 This is populated as specified in Section 3.2.1.3.
1418 4.4.1.4 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.searchScope
1421 This is populated with the
1422 ContinuationReference.referralURI.searchScope if present, otherwise
1423 by the ContinuationReference.searchScope if present, and not
1424 populated otherwise.
1427 4.4.1.5 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.searchedSubtrees
1430 This is populated with ContinuationReference.searchedSubtrees, as
1431 well as any previously received values of
1432 ChainedFinalResponseValue.chainingResults.searchedSubtrees or
1433 ChainedIntermediateResponseValue.chainingResults.searchedSubtrees
1434 which are subordinate, relative to the target object. (If thsi is
1435 relative to the target object, it can't contain non-relative
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1448 4.4.1.6 ChainedRequestValue.operationRequest
1451 This is populated with the original directory operation request.
1454 4.4.2 Attempting Each Referral URI
1457 A ContinuationReference consists of one or more referralURIs which
1458 represent(s a) remote DSA(s). The chaining DSA attempts to chain to
1459 each of these DSAs until one succeeds in completing the operation.
1460 An operation is considered to be completed if it reaches the remote
1461 DSA and a response is sent back that indicates that the operation was
1462 executed. Operations which are sent to the remote DSA, but don't
1463 complete are indicated by a result code of unavailable or busy. A
1464 result code of protocolError may indicate that the DSA does not
1465 support the chained operation, and in this case, it is also treated
1466 as an uncompleted operation. Other errors may in the future specify
1467 that they also indicate non-completion. Note that the response may
1468 itself contain referral(s), these are still considered completed
1469 operations and thus would subsequently be handled and chained.
1470 {TODO: could use soft/hard, or transient/permanent
1471 referral/non-referral error terms here.}
1474 4.4.3 Loop Prevention
1477 Prior to sending a ChainedRequest, the DSA may attempt to prevent
1478 looping scenarios by comparing {TODO: what matching rule is used?
1479 Suggest we don't convert dns names to ip addresses due to NATs} the
1480 address of the remote DSA and target object to the values of
1481 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.traceInformation. If a match
1482 is found, the DSA returns a loopDetect error. Note that while this
1483 type of loop prevention aids in detecting loops prior to sending data
1484 to a remote DSA, it is not a substitute for loop detection (Section
1485 Section 4.6.2). This is because the sending DSA is only aware of a
1486 single address on which the receiving DSA accepts connections.
1489 4.5 Emulating the Sending of a ChainedRequest
1492 When it is determined that the operation cannot be distributed by
1493 means of the ChainedRequest, the chaining DSA may instead emulate the
1494 steps involved in chaining the operation. These steps consist of
1495 performing loop prevention, forming a new directory operation request
1496 from the original request and possibly updating the base DN, search
1497 scope, and search filter(in order to emulate searchedSubtrees), and,
1498 similar to the steps in Section 4.4.2, attempting to send the
1499 operation request to each DSA listed in the
1500 ContinuationReference.referralURI until one succeeds in completing
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1513 {TODO: We need a way (control) to tell the receiver to allow name
1514 resolution to end on the parent of a cp (typically an immsupr). This
1515 would be sent when the ContinuationReference.referenceType is
1516 nonSpecificSubordinate}
1519 4.5.1 Emulated Loop Detection
1522 For this step, the loop prevention instructions in Section 4.4.3 are
1523 followed. Note that this method of loop detection may actually allow
1524 some looping to occur before the loop is detected.
1527 4.5.2 Forming the New Request
1530 The new directory operation request is formed from the fields of the
1531 original request, and the following fields may be updated:
1534 o The base DN is formed from the new target object as determined by
1535 following the instructions in Section 4.4.1.1 and using the value
1536 which would have been placed in
1537 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.targetObject.
1538 o For the search operation, the scope is populated with
1539 ContinuationReference.searchScope if present, otherwise the scope
1540 of the original operation request is used.
1541 o For the search operation, if the
1542 ContinuationReference.searchedSubtrees field is present, causes
1543 the search filter to be augmented by adding a filter item of the
1544 'and' CHOICE. The filter consists of {TODO: weasel Kurt into
1545 finishing his entryDN draft and reference the appropriate section
1547 <http://www.openldap.org/lists/ietf-ldapext/200407/msg00000.html>
1549 o Other fields (such as the messageID, and non-critical controls)
1550 may also need to be updated or excluded.
1553 If the service being chained to does not support directory
1554 operations, other operations may be used as long as they provide the
1555 same level as service as those provided by the analogous directory
1559 4.6 Receiving a ChainedRequest
1562 A DSA which is able to receive and service a ChainedRequest may
1563 advertise this feature by returning a value of IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.1 in
1564 the supportedExtension attribute of the root DSE. {TODO: move?}
1567 The ChainedRequestValue data type is the requestValue of an
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1580 In general, receiving and servicing a ChainedRequest consists of
1581 performing loop detection and, using components of the
1582 ChainedRequestType.chainingArguments along with the
1583 ChainedRequestType.operationRequest, service the request.
1586 4.6.1 Target Object determination
1589 Prior to checking for a loop condition, the target object must be
1590 determined. If the ChainedRequestType.chainingArguments.targetObject
1591 field is present, its value becomes the target object. Otherwise,
1592 the base DN found in the ChainedRequestType.operationRequest becomes
1596 4.6.2 Loop Detection
1599 The loop detection check happens when a DSA receives a chained
1600 operation, prior to acting on the operation. The DSA compares {TODO:
1601 matching rule? DNS expansion?} each value of
1602 ChainedRequestValue.traceInformation to the list of addresses at
1603 which it accepts directory communications. A value of
1604 ChainedRequestValue.traceInformation matches when the DSA accepts
1605 directory communications on the address found in the
1606 ChainedRequestValue.traceInformation value, and the target object (as
1607 determined in Section 4.6.1 matches the DN {TODO: using DN matching?}
1608 value found in the ChainedRequestValue.traceInformation value. If a
1609 match is found the DSA returns a loopDetect result.
1612 4.6.3 Processing the ChainedRequestValue.operationRequest
1615 In processing the operationRequest, the DSA uses the target object
1616 determined in Section 4.6.1. For search operations, it uses the
1617 scope found in ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.searchScope, and
1618 excludes any subtrees relative to the target object indicated in
1619 ChainedRequestValue.chainingArguments.searchedSubtrees.
1622 Responses are returned in the form of a Chained Response.
1625 4.7 Returning a Chained Response
1628 When returning responses to a ChainedRequest, the Chained Response as
1629 documented in Section 3.3 is used. If the
1630 ChainedFinalResponseValue.operationResponse is a searchResultDone,
1631 the ChainedFinalResponseValue.chainingResults.searchedSubtrees field
1632 is populated with values consisting of the RDNSequence relative to
1633 the target object of naming contexts that the DSA searched. See
1634 Section 3.3.1.1 for details on why this is done.
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1644 4.7.1 Chained Response resultCode
1647 The resultCode for the Chained Response is distinct from the result
1648 code of the ChainedIntermediateResponseValue.intermediateResponse or
1649 ChainedFinalResponseValue.finalResponse. If the act of chaining the
1650 operation completed, then this value will be success. Other result
1651 codes refer to the chained operation itself, and not the result of
1652 the embedded operation.
1655 4.7.2 Returning referrals in the Chained Response
1658 {TODO: it would be less complicated if rather than using the simple
1659 LDAP URL, we used the ContinuationReference type to return referrals
1660 and intermediate referrals.} {TODO: We need an example of why we
1661 should allow referrals on a chained response. Why not just use the
1662 referral field in the operation?}
1665 4.8 Receiving a Chained Response
1668 Processing a received Chained Response is generally straight forward
1669 -- typically the response is simply extracted and returned, but there
1670 are some extra steps to be taken when chaining sub-operations.
1673 4.8.1 Handling Sub-operation controls and result codes
1676 When sub-operations are chained, there is the possibility that
1677 different result codes will be encountered. Similarly, if controls
1678 which elicit response controls were attached to the operation, it's
1679 possible that multiple response controls will be encountered. Both
1680 of these possibilities require that the chaining DSA take appropriate
1681 steps to ensure that the response being returned is correct.
1684 In general, when a result code indicating an error is received, the
1685 operation will terminate and the error will be returned. In cases
1686 where multiple sub-operations are being concurrently serviced, the
1687 operation will terminate and the most relevant, or first received
1688 result code is returned -- determining the result code to be returned
1689 in this case is a local matter.
1692 A DSA which chains an operation having a control (or controls)
1693 attached must ensure that a properly formed response is returned.
1694 This requires that the DSA understand and know how to aggrigate the
1695 results of all controls which it allows to remain attached to an
1696 operation being chained. If the DSA does not understand or support a
1697 control which is marked non-critical, it removes the control prior to
1698 chaining the operation. The DSA may return
1699 unavailableCriticalExtension for critical controls that it cannot or
1700 will not chain. {TODO: give SSS as an example?}
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1710 4.8.1.1 Handling referrals during sub-operations
1713 If a referral is returned in response to a sub-operation, the sending
1714 DSA may attempt to further chain the operation. In the event that
1715 the DSA does not further chain the sub-operation, it will use the
1716 referral to construct an intermediate referral, and return it
1717 appropriately. When using a referral to construct an intermediate
1718 referral, certain transformations may have to happen. For example,
1719 when using a referral to construct a searchResultReference, it must
1720 be assured that the <dn> field is present, and that the <scope> field
1721 is properly updated.
1724 4.8.2 Duplicate Elimination
1727 When search result references cause the DSA to chain a search, it is
1728 possible that duplicate objects will be returned by different remote
1729 DSAs. These duplicate objects must be sensed and not returned.
1732 {TODO: Even though there are costs associated with returning
1733 duplicates, is it a worthy exercise to build in an allowance for them
1734 to be returned? In other words, do we want to add a way for a client
1735 (or administrator) to say "it's ok, return the duplicates, let the
1736 client deal with them"? Allowing is seen as a cost benefit to the
1740 4.9 Returning a Referral or Intermediate Referral
1743 There are two ways in which the fields of the ContinuationReference
1744 may be conveyed in a response containing or consisting of referral or
1745 intermediate referral. A paired control is introduced for the
1746 purpose of soliciting and returning a ContinuationReference. In
1747 absence of this control, a referral or intermediate referral may be
1748 returned which conveys the information present in the
1749 ContinuationReference. A method of converting a
1750 ContinuationReference to an LDAP URL is provided for referrals and
1751 intermediate referrals which identify LDAP-enabled DSAs. Methods for
1752 converting a ContinuationReference to URIs which identify non-LDAP
1753 servers is not provided here, but may be specified in future
1754 documents, as long as they can represent the data needed to provide
1755 the same level of service.
1758 4.9.1 ReturnContinuationReference controls
1761 This control is sent when a client wishes to receive a
1762 ContinuationReference in the event that a referral or intermediate
1763 referral is being returned. If returned, the ContinuationReference
1764 will hold all data but the referralURI field. the referralURI values
1765 will be held in the referral or intermediate referral (Referral,
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1775 SearchResultReference, etc.).
1778 4.9.1.1 ReturnContinuationReference request control
1781 Solicits the return of a ReturnContinuationReference response control
1782 on messages consisting of (or carrying) a referral or intermediate
1783 referral. The controlType is IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.3, the criticality is
1784 set at the sender's discretion, the controlValue is omitted.
1787 4.9.1.2 ReturnContinuationReference response control
1790 In response to the ReturnContinuationReference request control, this
1791 holds a ContinuationReference for messages consisting of (or
1792 carrying) a referral or intermediate referral. The controlType is
1793 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.3, the controlValue is the BER-encoding of a
1794 ContinuationReference. Note that the referralURI field is optionally
1795 omitted when the ContinuationReference is sent in this control value.
1796 In this event, the URI(s) found in the referral or intermediate
1797 referral (Referral, SearchContinuationReference, etc.) are to be used
1798 in its stead. {TODO: is returining the referralURI outside an
1799 unneeded complication?}
1802 4.9.2 Converting a ContinuationReference to an LDAP URL
1805 This section details the way in which an LDAP URL (from the referral
1806 or intermediate referral) is used to convey the fields of a
1807 ContinuationReference. Where existing LDAP URL fields are
1808 insufficient, extensions are introduced. Note that further
1809 extensions to the ContinuationReference type require further
1810 specifications here. {TODO: explain that each ldap url in the
1811 continuation refrerence is examined and converted}
1814 These instructions must be applied to each LDAP URL value within the
1815 referral or intermediate referral.
1818 4.9.2.1 Conveying the target name
1821 If the <dn> part of the LDAP URL is already present, it is determined
1822 to be the candidate target object. Otherwise, the candidate target
1823 object comes from the ContinuationReference.localReference. Once the
1824 candidate target object is determined, the value of
1825 ContinuationReference.remainingName is prepended to the candidate
1826 target object. This new value becomes the target object and its
1827 string value (as specified by <distinguishedName> in [RFC2253]) is
1828 placed in the <dn> part of the LDAP URL.
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1841 4.9.2.2 ContinuationReference.localReference
1844 This is conveyed as an extension. The extype is IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.4
1845 or the descriptor 'localReference', and the exvalue is the string DN
1846 encoding (as specified by <distinguishedName> in [RFC2253]) of the
1847 ContinuationReference.localReference value.
1850 4.9.2.3 ContinuationReference.referenceType
1853 This is conveyed as an extension. The extype is IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.5
1854 or the descriptor 'referenceType'. If the
1855 ContinuationReference.referenceType is one of superior, subordinate,
1856 cross, nonSpecificSubordinate, suplier, master, immediateSuperior, or
1857 self, the exvalue 'superior', 'subordinate', 'cross',
1858 'nonSpecificSubordinate', 'suplier', 'master', 'immediateSuperior',
1859 or 'self' respectively.
1862 4.9.2.4 ContinuationReference.searchScope
1865 If the search scope is one of baseObject, singleLevel, or
1866 wholeSubtree, then it may be conveyed in the 'scope' part of the LDAP
1867 URL as 'base', 'one', or 'sub' respectively. If the search scope is
1868 subordinateSubtree, then it may be conveyed in the <extension> form
1869 as documented in [LDAP-SUBORD]. If this extension is present, it
1870 MUST be marked critical. This ensures that a receiver which is
1871 unaware of this extension uses the proper search scope, or fails to
1872 progress the operation.
1875 4.9.2.5 ContinuationReference.searchedSubtrees
1878 This field is conveyed as an extension. The extype is
1879 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.6 or the descriptor 'searchedSubtrees', and the
1880 exvalue is the ContinuationReference.searchedSubtree value encoded
1881 according to the following searchedSubtrees ABNF:
1884 searchedSubtrees = 1*(LANGLE searchedSubtree RANGLE)
1885 searchedSubtree = <distinguishedName> from [RFC2253]
1886 LANGLE = %x3C ; left angle bracket ("<")
1887 RANGLE = %x3E ; right angle bracket (">")
1890 Each searchedSubtree represents one RDNSequence value in the
1891 ContinuationReference.searchedSubtree field. An example of a
1892 searchedSubtrees value containing two searched subtrees is:
1893 <dc=example,dc=com><cn=ralph,dc=users,dc=example,dc=com>.
1896 4.9.2.6 ContinuationReference.failedName
1899 This field is conveyed as an extension. The extype is
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1909 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.7 or the descriptor 'failedName', and the exvalue
1910 is the string DN encoding (as specified in [RFC2253]) of the
1911 ContinuationReference.failedName value.
1914 4.10 Acting on a Referral or Intermediate Referral
1917 When a protocol peer receives a referral or intermediate referral, it
1918 may distribute the operation either by sending a ChainedRequest, or
1919 by emulating the ChainedRequest. Prior to taking these steps, the
1920 protocol peer effectively converts the referral or intermediate
1921 referral into a ContinuationReference. Then, acting in the same
1922 manner as a DSA would, follows the directions in Section 4.4 if
1923 sending a ChainedRequest, or Section 4.5 otherwise.
1926 4.10.1 Converting a Referral or Intermediate Referral to a
1927 ContinuationReference
1930 A referral or intermediate referral may be converted (or conceptually
1931 converted) to a ContinuationReference type in order to follow the
1932 distributed operation procedures in Section 4.4, or Section 4.5. The
1933 following steps may only be used to convert a referral or
1934 intermediate referral containing LDAP URL values. Converting other
1935 types of URIs may be specified in future documents as long as the
1936 conversion provides the same level of service found here.
1939 o The ContinuationReference.referralURI is populated with all LDAP
1940 URL values in the referral or intermediate referral.
1941 o The ContinuationReference.localReference populate with the value
1942 of the localReference extension value (Section 4.9.2.2) if one
1943 exists. Otherwise it is omitted.
1944 o The ContinuationReference.referenceType populate with the value of
1945 the referenceType extension value (Section 4.9.2.3) if one exists.
1946 Otherwise it is omitted.
1947 o The ContinuationReference.remainingName is omitted.
1948 o The ContinuationReference.searchScope is populated with
1949 subordinateSubtree if the subordScope LDAP URL extension
1950 [LDAP-SUBORD] is present. If the <scope> field contains te value
1951 'base', 'one', 'sub', or 'subordinates', this filed is populated
1952 with baseObject, singleLevel, wholeSubtree, or subordinateSubtree
1953 respectively. Otherwise this field is omitted.
1954 o The ContinuationReference.searchedSubtrees is populated with any
1955 searchedSubtrees LDAP URI extension Section 4.9.2.5 value found on
1956 an LDAP URI in the referral or intermediate referral. If none
1957 exist, this field is omitted.
1958 o The ContinuationReference.failedName is populated with any
1959 failedName LDAP URI extension Section 4.9.2.6 value found on an
1960 LDAP URI in the referral or intermediate referral. If none exist,
1961 this field is omitted.
1966 Sermersheim Expires August 26, 2005 [Page 30]
1967 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
1971 Note that many fields are simply omitted. This is either because
1972 they are conveyed within the LDAP URL values themselves, and
1973 subsequent instructions will check for their presence, or because
1974 they are not needed (they are redundant or not used in further
1978 4.11 Ensuring non-existence of an entry under an nssr
1981 {TODO: add a huge disclaimer here that says without transactional
1982 semantics, you can never be sure that the entry didn't get added.
1983 Maybe we should just punt on this and say it's a local matter} In
1984 order to ensure there are no entries matching the name of the entry
1985 to be added or renamed immediately subordinate to an nssr, these
1986 steps may be followed.
1989 If the DSA is able and allowed to chain operations, it may contact
1990 each of the DSAs listed as access points in the nssr (in the ref
1991 attribute) and using a base-level search operation it will determine
1992 whether or not the object to be added exists. Note that access
1993 control or other policies may hide the entry from the sending DSA.
1994 If the entry does not exist on any of the DSAs listed in the nssr,
1995 the operation may progress on the local DSA.
1998 If the DSA cannot make this determination, the operation fails with
1999 affectsMultipleDSAs.
2002 4.12 Mapping a referralURI to an LDAP URI
2005 As with any URI specification which is intended to be used as a URI
2006 which conveys referral information, the LDAP URI specification is
2007 given a mapping to the elements of a referralURI as specified in.
2008 Section 3.1.1.1. These mappings are given here using the ABNF
2009 identifiers given in [RFC2255].
2012 referralURI to LDAP URI mapping:
2015 +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
2016 | referralURI element | LDAP URL element |
2017 +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
2018 | protocolIdentifier | <scheme> |
2020 | accessPoint | <hostport> |
2022 | targetObject | <dn>. This must be encoded as a |
2023 | | <distinguishedName> as |
2024 | | specified in [RFC2253] |
2026 | localReference | LDAP URL localReference |
2031 Sermersheim Expires August 26, 2005 [Page 31]
2032 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
2036 | | extension as specified in |
2037 | | Section 4.9.2.2 |
2039 | referenceType | LDAP URL referenceType |
2040 | | extension as specified in |
2041 | | Section 4.9.2.3 |
2043 | searchScope | <scope> or LDAP URL subordScope |
2044 | | extension as specified in |
2045 | | Section 4.9.2.4 |
2047 | searchedSubtrees | LDAP URL searchedSubtrees |
2048 | | extension as specified in |
2049 | | Section 4.9.2.5 |
2051 | failedName | LDAP URL failedName extension |
2052 | | as specified in Section 4.9.2.6 |
2053 +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
2057 4.13 Using the ManageDsaIT control
2060 This control, defined in [RFC3296], allows the management of the
2061 distributed knowledge information held by a DSA, and thus overrides
2062 the determinations made during name resolution and operation
2063 evaluation. When this control is attached to an operation, all
2064 resolved and acted upon DSEs are treated as being local to the DSA.
2065 This is true regardless of the phase the operation is in. Thus
2066 referrals are never returned and chaining never occurs.
2090 Sermersheim Expires August 26, 2005 [Page 32]
2091 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
2095 5. Security Considerations
2098 This document introduces a mechanism (chaining) which can be used to
2099 propagate directory operation requests to servers which may be
2100 inaccessible otherwise. Implementers and deployers of this
2101 technology should be aware of this and take appropriate steps such
2102 that firewall mechanisms are not compromised.
2105 This document introduces the ability to return auxiliary data when
2106 returning referrals. Measures should be taken to ensure proper
2107 protection of his data.
2110 Implementers must ensure that any specified time, size, and
2111 administrative limits are not circumvented due to the mechanisms
2115 6. Normative References
2119 Sermersheim, J., "Subordinate Subtree Search Scope for
2121 Internet-Draft draft-sermersheim-ldap-subordinate-scope,
2125 [RFC2079] Smith, M., "Definition of an X.500 Attribute Type and an
2126 Object Class to Hold Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs)",
2127 RFC 2079, January 1997.
2130 [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
2131 Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
2134 [RFC2251] Wahl, M., Howes, T. and S. Kille, "Lightweight Directory
2135 Access Protocol (v3)", RFC 2251, December 1997.
2138 [RFC2253] Wahl, M., Kille, S. and T. Howes, "Lightweight Directory
2139 Access Protocol (v3): UTF-8 String Representation of
2140 Distinguished Names", RFC 2253, December 1997.
2143 [RFC2255] Howes, T. and M. Smith, "The LDAP URL Format", RFC 2255,
2147 [RFC2396] Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R. and L. Masinter, "Uniform
2148 Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax", RFC 2396,
2152 [RFC3296] Zeilenga, K., "Named Subordinate References in Lightweight
2153 Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Directories", RFC 3296,
2159 Sermersheim Expires August 26, 2005 [Page 33]
2160 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
2164 [RFC3377] Hodges, J. and R. Morgan, "Lightweight Directory Access
2165 Protocol (v3): Technical Specification", RFC 3377,
2169 [RFC3383] Zeilenga, K., "Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
2170 Considerations for the Lightweight Directory Access
2171 Protocol (LDAP)", BCP 64, RFC 3383, September 2002.
2174 [RFC3771] Harrison, R. and K. Zeilenga, "The Lightweight Directory
2175 Access Protocol (LDAP) Intermediate Response Message",
2176 RFC 3771, April 2004.
2179 [X500] International Telephone and Telegraph Consultative
2180 Committee, "The Directory - overview of concepts, models
2181 and services", ITU-T Recommendation X.500, November 1993.
2184 [X518] International Telephone and Telegraph Consultative
2185 Committee, "The Directory - The Directory: Procedures for
2186 distributed operation", ITU-T Recommendation X.518,
2190 [X680] International Telecommunications Union, "Abstract Syntax
2191 Notation One (ASN.1): Specification of basic notation",
2192 ITU-T Recommendation X.680, July 2002.
2195 [X690] International Telecommunications Union, "Information
2196 Technology - ASN.1 encoding rules: Specification of Basic
2197 Encoding Rules (BER), Canonical Encoding Rules (CER) and
2198 Distinguished Encoding Rules (DER)", ITU-T Recommendation
2208 1800 South Novell Place
2213 Phone: +1 801 861-3088
2214 Email: jimse@novell.com
2225 Sermersheim Expires August 26, 2005 [Page 34]
2226 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
2230 Appendix A. IANA Considerations
2233 Registration of the following values is requested [RFC3383].
2236 A.1 LDAP Object Identifier Registrations
2239 It is requested that IANA register upon Standards Action an LDAP
2240 Object Identifier in identifying the protocol elements defined in
2241 this technical specification. The following registration template is
2245 Subject: Request for LDAP OID Registration
2246 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2249 Specification: RFCXXXX
2250 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2252 Seven delegations will be made under the assigned OID:
2253 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.1 ChainedRequest LDAP Extended Operation
2254 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.2 Supported Feature: Can Chain Operations
2255 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.3 ReturnContinuationReference LDAP Controls
2256 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.4 localReference: LDAP URL Extension
2257 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.6 searchedSubtree: LDAP URL Extension
2258 IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.7 failedName: LDAP URL Extension
2261 A.2 LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registrations
2264 It is requested that IANA register upon Standards Action the LDAP
2265 protocol mechanism described in this document. The following
2266 registration templates are given:
2269 Subject: Request for LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registration
2270 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.1
2271 Description: ChainedRequest LDAP Extended Operation
2272 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2276 Specification: RFCXXXX
2277 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2281 Subject: Request for LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registration
2282 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.2
2283 Description: Can Chain Operations Supported Feature
2284 Person & email address to contact for further information:
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2291 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
2298 Specification: RFCXXXX
2299 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2303 Subject: Request for LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registration
2304 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.3
2305 Description: ReturnContinuationReference LDAP Controls
2306 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2310 Specification: RFCXXXX
2311 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2315 Subject: Request for LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registration
2316 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.4
2317 Description: localReference LDAP URL Extension
2318 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2322 Specification: RFCXXXX
2323 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2327 Subject: Request for LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registration
2328 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.5
2329 Description: referenceType LDAP URL Extension
2330 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2334 Specification: RFCXXXX
2335 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2339 Subject: Request for LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registration
2340 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.6
2341 Description: searchedSubtree LDAP URL Extension
2342 Person & email address to contact for further information:
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2352 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
2356 Specification: RFCXXXX
2357 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2361 Subject: Request for LDAP Protocol Mechanism Registration
2362 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.7
2363 Description: failedName LDAP URL Extension
2364 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2368 Specification: RFCXXXX
2369 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2373 A.3 LDAP Descriptor Registrations
2376 It is requested that IANA register upon Standards Action the LDAP
2377 descriptors described in this document. The following registration
2378 templates are given:
2381 Subject: Request for LDAP Descriptor Registration
2382 Descriptor (short name): localReference
2383 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.4
2384 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2387 Usage: URL Extension
2388 Specification: RFCXXXX
2389 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2393 Subject: Request for LDAP Descriptor Registration
2394 Descriptor (short name): referenceType
2395 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.5
2396 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2399 Usage: URL Extension
2400 Specification: RFCXXXX
2401 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2405 Subject: Request for LDAP Descriptor Registration
2406 Descriptor (short name): searchedSubtree
2407 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.6
2408 Person & email address to contact for further information:
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2415 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
2421 Usage: URL Extension
2422 Specification: RFCXXXX
2423 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2427 Subject: Request for LDAP Descriptor Registration
2428 Descriptor (short name): failedName
2429 Object Identifier: IANA-ASSIGNED-OID.7
2430 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2433 Usage: URL Extension
2434 Specification: RFCXXXX
2435 Author/Change Controller: IESG
2439 A.4 LDAP Result Code Registrations
2442 It is requested that IANA register upon Standards Action the LDAP
2443 result codes described in this document. The following registration
2444 templates are given:
2447 Subject: Request for LDAP Result Code Registration
2448 Result Code Name: invalidReference
2449 Person & email address to contact for further information:
2452 Usage: URL Extension
2453 Specification: RFCXXXX
2454 Author/Change Controller: IESG
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2476 Internet-Draft Distributed Procedures for LDAP Operations February 2005
2480 Intellectual Property Statement
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2495 attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
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2498 http://www.ietf.org/ipr.
2501 The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
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2509 Disclaimer of Validity
2512 This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
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2525 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005). This document is subject
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2534 Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
2541 Sermersheim Expires August 26, 2005 [Page 39]