2004.09_Charly's Column-Phpldapadmin.pdf

Charly’s column

SYSADMIN

Secret Affair

If your are fond of using PhpMyAdmin for MySQL database manage-

ment, you may be missing a convenient Web interface for LDAP

directory management. BY CHARLY KÜHNAST

need for more peace of mind is

called PhpLDAPadmin 0.9.4b [1].

PhpLDAPadmin is available as a 368

KByte tar archive for Linux. The require-

ments to run this are minimal: PHP 4.1.0

or later, and Apache. You need to move

the directory that is

created when you

unpack the archive into

a path that is accessible

to Apache. Having

done this, go on to

rename the sample

configuration file to

config.php , before you

start firing up your edi-

tor. Initially, it should

suffice to just add the

name of your LDAP

server and the user cre-

dentials. Then launch a

browser, point it to the

opening page and you

are now up and run-

ning.

I was extremely impressed by the

range of tasks that PhpLDAPadmin sup-

ports. Templates are available for

repetitive jobs, for example, for user and

group account, address book, Samba

machine and user, and DNS entries. You

can always create your own templates,

if the standard collection does not pro-

vide all the functionality that you need –

and there is even a wizard to help you

do so, providing previously defined

When exporting

LDAP data, you can choose between

LDIF and DSML. Specify whether the tar-

get system is a Unix, Mac, or Windows

box, and let PhpLDAPadmin take care of

the correct line end coding. PhpLDAPad-

min supports simple and advanced

LDAP data searches, the latter using

practical filters that allow admins to

restrict searches to a single branch, and

output individual attributes.

PhpLDAPadmin respects the character-

istics of the target server, no matter

whether this be a Sun, Microsoft, or

Novell box. This is useful, as not all

manufacturers take the specifications as

seriously as they should. In my case,

PhpLDAPadmin performed perfectly

with an OpenLDAP server. The tool’s

user interface speaks eleven languages.

To top that, and complete this month’s

accolades, it even supports UTF-8.

Figure 1: Click on previously defined object classes to create your own

PhpLDAPadmin templates.

object classes that you can build on (see

Figure 1).

■

INFO

Top Notch Support

PhpLDAPadmin provides the kind of

support I need, when managing existing

LDAP data. PhpLDAPadmin automati-

cally selects the right template, driven by

the type of data you need to modify. This

means you have access to the full range

of attributes including binary data and

images. Managing LDAP data structures

is just as simple. You can move and copy

entries – even across multiple LDAP

servers if required. The tool also sup-

ports recursive copying or deleting of

complete subtrees.

[1] PhpLDAPadmin: http://phpldapadmin.

sourceforge.net

SYSADMIN

Wakeup ....................................... 60

If you keep your computer turned on 24 x 7,

the electricity bills can really hurt your

pocket. We find out how to automatically

control system wakeups.

Admin Workshop .................. 64

This month we take a look at the critical

mailing lists that security minded sysad-

mins need to monitor to be forwarned on

potential vulnerabilities .

Charly Kühnast is a

Unix System Manager

at the data- center in

Moers, near

Germany’s famous

River Rhine. His tasks

include ensuring fire-

wall security and availability and

taking care of the DMZ (demilitarized

zone).

www.linux-magazine.com September 2004

The Sysadmin’s Daily Grind: PhpLDAPadmin

T he (Open Source) solution you

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: