Network Working Group                                        K. Zeilenga
Request for Comments: 5020                                 Isode Limited
Category: Standards Track                                    August 2007


      The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) entryDN
                        Operational Attribute

Status of This Memo

  This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
  Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
  improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
  Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
  and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

  Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007).

Abstract

  This document describes the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
  (LDAP) / X.500 'entryDN' operational attribute.  The attribute
  provides a copy of the entry's distinguished name for use in
  attribute value assertions.

























Zeilenga                    Standards Track                     [Page 1]

RFC 5020                      LDAP entryDN                   August 2007


1.  Background and Intended Use

  In X.500 Directory Services [X.501], such as those accessible using
  the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) [RFC4510], an entry
  is identified by its distinguished name (DN) [RFC4512].  However, as
  an entry's DN is not an attribute of the entry, it is not possible to
  perform attribute value assertions [RFC4511] against it.

  This document describes the 'entryDN' operational attribute which
  holds a copy of the entry's distinguished name.  This attribute may
  be used in search filters.  For instance, searching the subtree
  <dc=example,dc=com> with the filter:

     (entryDN:componentFilterMatch:=or:{
         item:{ component "3", rule rdnMatch, value "ou=A" },
         item:{ component "3", rule rdnMatch, value "ou=B" } })

  would return entries in the subtree <ou=A,dc=example,dc=com> and
  entries in subtree <ou=B,dc=example,dc=com>, but would not return any
  other entries in the subtree <dc=example,dc=com>.

  In the above paragraph, DNs are presented using the string
  representation defined in [RFC4514], and the example search filter is
  presented using the string representation defined in [RFC4515] with
  whitespace (line breaks and indentation) added to improve
  readability.  The 'componentFilterMatch' and 'rdnMatch' rules are
  specified in [RFC3687].

  Schema definitions are provided using LDAP description formats
  [RFC4512].  Definitions provided here are formatted (line wrapped)
  for readability.

2.  'entryDN' Operational Attribute

  The 'entryDN' operational attribute provides a copy of the entry's
  current DN.

  The following is an LDAP attribute type description suitable for
  publication in subschema subentries.

     ( 1.3.6.1.1.20 NAME 'entryDN'
         DESC 'DN of the entry'
         EQUALITY distinguishedNameMatch
         SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.12
         SINGLE-VALUE
         NO-USER-MODIFICATION
         USAGE directoryOperation )




Zeilenga                    Standards Track                     [Page 2]

RFC 5020                      LDAP entryDN                   August 2007


  Note that the DN of the entry cannot be modified through this
  attribute.

3.  Security Considerations

  As this attribute only provides an additional mechanism to access an
  entry's DN, the introduction of this attribute is not believed to
  introduce new security considerations.

4.  IANA Considerations

4.1.  Object Identifier Registration

  IANA has registered (upon Standards Action) an LDAP Object Identifier
  [RFC4520] for use in this document.

     Subject: Request for LDAP OID Registration
     Person & email address to contact for further information:
         Kurt Zeilenga <[email protected]>
     Specification: RFC 5020
     Author/Change Controller: IESG
     Comments:
         Identifies the 'entryDN' attribute type

4.2.  'entryDN' Descriptor Registration

  IANA has registered (upon Standards Action) the LDAP 'entryDN'
  descriptor [RFC4520].

     Subject: Request for LDAP Descriptor Registration
     Descriptor (short name): entryDN
     Object Identifier: 1.3.6.1.1.20
     Person & email address to contact for further information:
         Kurt Zeilenga <[email protected]>
     Usage: Attribute Type
     Specification: RFC 5020
     Author/Change Controller: IESG














Zeilenga                    Standards Track                     [Page 3]

RFC 5020                      LDAP entryDN                   August 2007


5.  References

5.1.  Normative References

  [RFC4510]   Zeilenga, K., Ed., "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
              (LDAP): Technical Specification Road Map", RFC 4510, June
              2006.

  [RFC4512]   Zeilenga, K., Ed., "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
              (LDAP): Directory Information Models", RFC 4512, June
              2006.

  [X.501]     International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication
              Standardization Sector, "The Directory -- Models,"
              X.501(1993) (also ISO/IEC 9594-2:1994).

5.2.  Informative References

  [RFC3687]   Legg, S., "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
              and X.500 Component Matching Rules", RFC 3687, February
              2004.

  [RFC4511]   Sermersheim, J., Ed., "Lightweight Directory Access
              Protocol (LDAP): The Protocol", RFC 4511, June 2006.

  [RFC4514]   Zeilenga, K., Ed., "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
              (LDAP): String Representation of Distinguished Names",
              RFC 4514, June 2006.

  [RFC4515]   Smith, M., Ed., and T. Howes, "Lightweight Directory
              Access Protocol (LDAP): String Representation of Search
              Filters", RFC 4515, June 2006.

  [RFC4520]   Zeilenga, K., "Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
              Considerations for the Lightweight Directory Access
              Protocol (LDAP)", BCP 64, RFC 4520, June 2006.

Author's Address

  Kurt D. Zeilenga
  Isode Limited

  EMail: [email protected]








Zeilenga                    Standards Track                     [Page 4]

RFC 5020                      LDAP entryDN                   August 2007


Full Copyright Statement

  Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007).

  This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
  contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors
  retain all their rights.

  This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
  "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS
  OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY, THE IETF TRUST AND
  THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS
  OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF
  THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
  WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Intellectual Property

  The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
  Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to
  pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
  this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
  might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has
  made any independent effort to identify any such rights.  Information
  on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be
  found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.

  Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any
  assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an
  attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
  such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
  specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at
  http://www.ietf.org/ipr.

  The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
  copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
  rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement
  this standard.  Please address the information to the IETF at
  [email protected].

Acknowledgement

  Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
  Internet Society.







Zeilenga                    Standards Track                     [Page 5]


You are viewing proxied material from gopher.rbfh.de. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.