H1: Schema Specification
-This chapter describes how to extend the schema used by {{slapd}}(8).
-The first section details optional schema definitions provided
-in the distribution and where to obtain other definitions. The
-second section details how to define new schema items.
+This chapter describes how to extend the user schema used by {{slapd}}(8).
+The first section, {{SECT:Distributed Schema Files}} details optional
+schema definitions provided in the distribution and where to obtain
+other definitions.
+The second section, {{SECT:Extending Schema}}, details how to define
+new schema items.
+!if 0
+The third section, {{SECT:Transferring Schema}} details how you can
+export schema definitions from an LDAPv3 server and transform it
+to {{slapd.conf}}(5) format.
+!endif
H2: Distributed Schema Files
cosine.schema Cosine and Internet X.500 (useful)
inetorgperson.schema InetOrgPerson (useful)
misc.schema Assorted (experimental)
-nadf.schema North American Directory Forum (FYI)
nis.schema Network Information Services (FYI)
openldap.schema OpenLDAP Project (experimental)
!endblock
To use any of these schema files, you only need to include the
-the desired file in the global definitions portion of your
+desired file in the global definitions portion of your
{{slapd.conf}}(5) file. For example:
> # include schema
Note: You should not modify any of the schema items defined
in provided files.
+
H2: Extending Schema
Schema used by {{slapd}}(8) may be extended to support additional
-syntaxes, matching rules, attribute types, and object classes.
-This chapter details how to add attribute types and object classes
-using the syntaxes and matching rules already support by slapd.
-slapd can also be extended to support additional syntaxes
-and matching rules, but this requires some programming and hence
-is not discussed here.
+syntaxes, matching rules, attribute types, and object classes. This
+chapter details how to add user application attribute types and
+object classes using the syntaxes and matching rules already supported
+by slapd. slapd can also be extended to support additional syntaxes,
+matching rules and system schema, but this requires some programming
+and hence is not discussed here.
There are five steps to defining new schema:
^ obtain Object Identifer
+ define custom attribute types (if necessary)
+ define custom object classes
+
H3: Object Identifiers
Each schema element is identified by a globally unique
{{TERM[expand]OID}} (OID). OIDs are also used to identify
other objects.
They are commonly found in protocols described by {{TERM:ASN.1}}. In
-particular, they are heavy used by {{TERM[expand]SNMP}} (SNMP).
+particular, they are heavily used by the {{TERM[expand]SNMP}} (SNMP).
As OIDs are hierarchical, your organization
can obtain one OID and branch it as needed. For example,
if your organization were assigned OID {{EX:1.1}}, you could branch
You are, of course, free to design a hierarchy suitable to your
organizational needs under your organization's OID. No matter
what hierarchy you choose, you should maintain a registry of
-assignments you make. This can be a simple flat file or a
+assignments you make. This can be a simple flat file or
something more sophisticated such as the {{OpenLDAP OID Registry}}
({{URL:http://www.openldap.org/faq/index.cgi?file=197}}).
For more information about Object Identifers (and a listing
service) see {{URL:http://www.alvestrand.no/harald/objectid/}}.
-.{{Under no circumstances should you use a fictious OID!}}
+.{{Under no circumstances should you use a fictitious OID!}}
To obtain a fully registered OID at {{no cost}}, apply for
-a OID under {{ORG[expand]IANA}} (IANA) maintained
+an OID under the {{ORG[expand]IANA}} (IANA) maintained
{{Private Enterprise}} arch. Any private enterprise (organization)
may request an OID to be assigned under this arch. Just fill
out the {{ORG:IANA}} form at {{URL: http://www.iana.org/cgi-bin/enterprise.pl}}
and your official OID will be sent to you usually within a few days.
-Your base OID will be something like {{EX:1.3.6.1.4.1.X}} were {{EX:X}}
+Your base OID will be something like {{EX:1.3.6.1.4.1.X}} where {{EX:X}}
is an integer.
Note: Don't let the "MIB/SNMP" statement on the IANA page confuse you.
H3: Name Prefix
-In addition to assign a unique object identifier to each schema
+In addition to assigning a unique object identifier to each schema
element, you should provide a least one textual name for each
-element. The name should be both descriptive and no likely
+element. The name should be both descriptive and not likely
to clash with names of other schema elements. In particular,
any name you choose should not clash with present or future
Standard Track names.
The smaller the organization, the longer your prefix should
be.
-In the examples below, we have choosen a short prefix '{{EX:my}}'
-(to save space). Such a short would only be suitable for a
-very large, global organization. For a small, local
-organization, we recommend something like '{{EX:deFirm}}'
-(German company) or '{{EX:comExample}}' (elements associated
-with organization associated with {{EX:example.com}}).
+In the examples below, we have chosen a short prefix '{{EX:my}}'
+(to save space). Such a short prefix would only be suitable for
+a very large, global organization. For a small, local organization,
+we recommend something like '{{EX:deFirm}}' (German company) or
+'{{EX:comExample}}' (elements associated with organization associated
+with {{EX:example.com}}).
H3: Local schema file
> [ "EQUALITY" woid ; Matching Rule name
> [ "ORDERING" woid ; Matching Rule name
> [ "SUBSTR" woid ] ; Matching Rule name
-> [ "SYNTAX" whsp noidlen whsp ] ; see section 4.3
+> [ "SYNTAX" whsp noidlen whsp ] ; Syntax OID
> [ "SINGLE-VALUE" whsp ] ; default multi-valued
> [ "COLLECTIVE" whsp ] ; default not collective
> [ "NO-USER-MODIFICATION" whsp ]; default user modifiable
>
where whsp is a space ('{{EX: }}'), numericoid is a globally unique
-OID in numeric form (e.g. {{EX:1.2.3}}), qdescrs is one or more
-names, woid is either the name or OID, and noidlen is a optional length
-specifier (e.g {{EX:{10}}}).
+OID in dotted-decimal form (e.g. {{EX:1.1.0}}), qdescrs is one or
+more names, woid is either the name or OID optionally followed
+by a length specifier (e.g {{EX:{10}}}).
For example, the attribute types {{EX:name}} and {{EX:cn}} are defined
in {{F:core.schema}} as:
-> attributeType: ( 2.5.4.41 NAME 'name'
+> attributeType ( 2.5.4.41 NAME 'name'
+> DESC 'name(s) associated with the object'
> EQUALITY caseIgnoreMatch
> SUBSTR caseIgnoreSubstringsMatch
> SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15{32768} )
-> attributeType: ( 2.5.4.3 NAME
-> ( 'cn' $ 'commonName' ) SUP name )
-
-Notice that each defines the attribute's OID and descriptive
-names. Each name is an alias for the OID. {{slapd}}(8) returns
-the first listed name when returning results.
+> attributeType ( 2.5.4.3 NAME ( 'cn' $ 'commonName' )
+> DESC 'common name(s) assciated with the object'
+> SUP name )
-The first attribute, {{EX:name}}, has a syntax of directory string
-(a UTF-8 encoded Unicode string) with a recommend maximun length.
-Note that syntaxes is specified by OID. In addition, the equality
-and substring matching uses case ignore rules. Below are tables
-listing commonly used supported syntax and matching rules.
+Notice that each defines the attribute's OID, provides a short name,
+and a brief description. Each name is an alias for the OID.
+{{slapd}}(8) returns the first listed name when returning results.
+
+The first attribute, {{EX:name}}, holds values of {{EX:directoryString}}
+(UTF-8 encoded Unicode) syntax. The syntax is specified by OID
+(1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 identifies the directoryString
+syntax). A length recommendation of 32768 is specified. Servers
+should support values of this length, but may support longer values
+The field does NOT specify a size constraint, so is ignored on
+servers (such as slapd) which don't impose such size limits. In
+addition, the equality and substring matching uses case ignore
+rules. Below are tables listing commonly used syntax and
+matching rules (OpenLDAP supports these and many more).
!block table; align=Center; coltags="EX,EX,N"; \
- title="Table 6.3: Supported Syntaxes"
+ title="Table 6.3: Commonly Used Syntaxes"
Name OID Description
-binary 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.5 BER/DER data
boolean 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.7 boolean value
-distinguishedName 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 DN
+distinguishedName 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.12 DN
directoryString 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 UTF-8 string
IA5String 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.26 ASCII string
Integer 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.27 integer
>
!block table; align=Center; coltags="EX,N"; \
- title="Table 6.4: Supported Matching Rules"
+ title="Table 6.4: Commonly Used Matching Rules"
Name Type Description
booleanMatch equality boolean
+octetStringMatch equality octet string
objectIdentiferMatch equality OID
distinguishedNameMatch equality DN
-uniqueMemberMatch equality DN with optional UID
+uniqueMemberMatch equality Name with optional UID
numericStringMatch equality numerical
numericStringOrderingMatch ordering numerical
numericStringSubstringsMatch substrings numerical
caseExactOrderingMatch ordering case sensitive, space insensitive
caseExactSubstringsMatch substrings case sensitive, space insensitive
caseIgnoreIA5Match equality case insensitive, space insensitive
-caseIgnoreOrderingIA5Match ordering case insensitive, space insensitive
-caseIgnoreSubstringsIA5Match substrings case insensitive, space insensitive
+caseIgnoreIA5OrderingMatch ordering case insensitive, space insensitive
+caseIgnoreIA5SubstringsMatch substrings case insensitive, space insensitive
caseExactIA5Match equality case sensitive, space insensitive
-caseExactOrderingIA5Match ordering case sensitive, space insensitive
-caseExactSubstringsIA5Match substrings case sensitive, space insensitive
+caseExactIA5OrderingMatch ordering case sensitive, space insensitive
+caseExactIA5SubstringsMatch substrings case sensitive, space insensitive
!endblock
The second attribute, {{EX:cn}}, is a subtype of {{EX:name}} hence
-in inherits the syntax, matching rules, and usage of {{EX:name}}.
+it inherits the syntax, matching rules, and usage of {{EX:name}}.
{{EX:commonName}} is an alternative name.
-Neither attributes is restricted to a single value and both are
-meant for usage by user applications. You likely won't need to
-specify other parameters such as {{EX:OBSOLETE}}.
+Neither attribute is restricted to a single value. Both are meant
+for usage by user applications. Neither is obsolete nor collective.
The following subsections provide a couple of examples.
H4: myUniqueName
Many organizations maintain a single unique name for each user.
-Though one could use {{EX:displayName}} ({{REF:RFC2798}}), but this
-attribute is meant to be controlled by the user, not the
+Though one could use {{EX:displayName}} ({{REF:RFC2798}}), this
+attribute is really meant to be controlled by the user, not the
organization. We could just copy the definition of {{EX:displayName}}
from {{F:inetorgperson.schema}} and replace the OID, name, and
description, e.g:
> SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15
> SINGLE-VALUE )
-However, if we desire this name to included in
+However, if we want this name to be included in
{{EX:name}} assertions [e.g. {{EX:(name=*Jane*)}}], the attribute
could alternatively be defined as a subtype of {{EX:name}}, e.g.:
> SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.40
> SINGLE-VALUE )
-As noted in the description, LDAP has no knowledge of the
-format of the photo. It's assumed that all applications
-accessing this attribute agree on the handling of values.
+In this case, the syntax doesn't specify the format of the photo.
+It's assumed (maybe incorrectly) that all applications accessing
+this attribute agree on the handling of values.
-If you want to support multiple photo format, one could define
-a separate attributes type for each format, prefix the photo
+If you wanted to support multiple photo formats, you could define
+a separate attribute type for each format, prefix the photo
with some typing information, or describe the value using
{{TERM:ASN.1}} and use the {{EX:;binary}} transfer option.
Another alternative is for the attribute to hold a {{TERM:URI}}
pointing to the photo. You can model such an attribute after
-{{EX:labeledURI}} ({{REF:RFC2079}}).
+{{EX:labeledURI}} ({{REF:RFC2079}}) or simply create a subtype,
+e.g.:
+
+> attributetype ( 1.1.2.1.3 NAME 'myPhotoURI'
+> DESC 'URI and optional label referring to a photo'
+> SUP labeledURI )
H3: Object Class Specification
> whsp ")"
where whsp is a space ('{{EX: }}'), numericoid is a globally unique
-OID in numeric form (e.g. {{EX:1.2.3}}), qdescrs is one or more
-names, oids is one or more names and/or OIDs.
+OID in numeric form (e.g. {{EX:1.1.0}}), qdescrs is one or more
+names, and oids is one or more names and/or OIDs.
H4: myPhotoObject
> objectclass ( 1.1.2.2.2 NAME 'myPerson'
> DESC 'my person'
-> MUST ( 'myUniqueName' $ 'givenName' )
> SUP inetOrgPerson
-> MAY 'myPhoto' )
+> MUST ( myUniqueName $ givenName )
+> MAY myPhoto )
The object class inherits the required/allowed attribute
types of {{EX:inetOrgPerson}} but requires {{EX:myUniqueName}}
and {{EX:givenName}} and allows {{EX:myPhoto}}.
+
+!if 0
+H2: Transferring Schema
+
+Since the {{slapd.conf}}(5) schema directives use {{REF:RFC2252}}
+format values, you can extract schema elements published by
+any LDAPv3 server and easily construct directives for use with
+{{slapd}}(8).
+
+LDAPv3 servers publish schema elements in special {{subschema}}
+entries (or subentries). {{slapd}}(8) publishes a single subschema
+entry normally named {{EX:cn=Subschema}}. In a server which
+supports a single subschema subentry, the DN of the subschema
+subenty can usually be found by examining the value of the
+{{EX:subschemaSubentry}} attribute type in the {{root DSE}}.
+Other servers may publish multiple subschema entries. These
+can be located by examining the {{EX:subschemaSubentry}} attribute
+contained in the entry at the root of each administrative context.
+
+To obtain the schema from a subschema subentry, you can use
+ldapsearch(1) as follows (replace the search base as needed):
+
+> ldapsearch -LLL -x -b "cn=Subschema" -s base "(objectclass=subschema)" attributeTypes objectClasses
+
+This will return {{TERM:LDIF}} output containing many type/value
+pairs. The following is an abbreviated example:
+
+> dn: cn=Subschema
+> attributeTypes: ( 1.1.2.1.1 NAME 'myUniqueName' DESC 'unique name wi
+> th my organization' EQUALITY caseIgnoreMatch SUBSTR caseIgnoreSubst
+> ringsMatch SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 SINGLE-VALUE )
+> attributeTypes: ( 1.1.2.1.2 NAME 'myPhoto' DESC 'a photo (applicatio
+> n defined format)' SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.40
+> objectClasses: ( 1.1.2.2.2 NAME 'myPerson' DESC 'my person' SUP inet
+> OrgPerson MUST ( myUniqueName $ givenName ) MAY myPhoto )
+
+Capture the output of the search in a file and then edit the file:
+
++ to contain only desired type/value pairs
+^ join LDIF continuation lines
+^ replace attribute type with directive name
+(e.g. {{EX:s/attributeTypes:/attributeType/}} and
+{{EX:s/objectClasses:/objectClass/}}).
+^ continue long directives over multiple lines
+
+For the three type/value pairs in our example, the edit should
+result in a file with contains of:
+
+> attributetype ( 1.1.2.1.1 NAME 'myUniqueName'
+> DESC 'unique name with my organization'
+> EQUALITY caseIgnoreMatch
+> SUBSTR caseIgnoreSubstringsMatch
+> SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15
+> SINGLE-VALUE )
+> attributeType ( 1.1.2.1.2 NAME 'myPhoto'
+> DESC 'a photo (application defined format)'
+> SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.40
+> objectClass ( 1.1.2.2.2 NAME 'myPerson'
+> DESC 'my person'
+> SUP inetOrgPerson
+> MUST ( myUniqueName $ givenName )
+> MAY myPhoto )
+
+Save in an appropriately named file (e.g. {{F:my.schema}}).
+You may now include this file in your {{slapd.conf}}(5) file.
+!endif
+
+
+H3: OID Macros
+
+To ease the management and use of OIDs, {{slapd}}(8) supports
+{{Object Identifier}} macros. The {{EX:objectIdentifier}} is used
+to equate a macro (name) with a OID. The OID may possibly be derived
+from a previously defined OID macro. The {{slapd.conf}}(5) syntax
+is:
+
+E: objectIdentifier <name> { <oid> | <name>[:<suffix>] }
+
+The following demonstrates definition of a set of OID macros
+and their use in defining schema elements:
+
+> objectIdentifier myOID 1.1
+> objectIdentifier mySNMP myOID:1
+> objectIdentifier myLDAP myOID:2
+> objectIdentifier myAttributeType myLDAP:1
+> objectIdentifier myObjectClass myLDAP:2
+> attributetype ( myAttributeType:3 NAME 'myPhotoURI'
+> DESC 'URI and optional label referring to a photo'
+> SUP labeledURI )
+> objectclass ( myObjectClass:1 NAME 'myPhotoObject'
+> DESC 'mixin myPhoto'
+> AUXILIARY
+> MAY myPhoto )
+
projects / openldap / blobdiff