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Migrating Data from Other LDAP-Compliant Directories

This appendix tells how to migrate data from LDAP Version 3-compatible directories into Oracle Internet Directory.

This appendix contains these topics:

About the Data Migration Process

To migrate users to Oracle Internet Directory from application-specific repositories, use the OID User Migration Tool. For information about this tool, see the Oracle Internet Directory Administrator's Guide Addendum on the Oracle Technology Network at http://otn.oracle.com

About the Data Migration Process

You can import data from a third-party LDAP-compliant directory into Oracle Internet Directory by saving the data in an LDIF file. LDIF is the IETF-sanctioned ASCII interchange format for representing LDAP-compliant directory data as a file. All LDAP-compliant directories should be able to export their contents into one or more LDIF files representing the DIT at the time of export.

Be aware that certain proprietary attributes or metadata may be included in a given product's LDIF output. You must remove this extraneous data from the LDIF file before you import the file into Oracle Internet Directory. In such cases, you need to perform some additional steps before importing the LDIF files into Oracle Internet Directory. The next section explains these steps.

See Also:

The LDIF technical specification available for download at: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2849.txt

Migrating Data

This section contains these topics:

Task 1: Export Data from the Non-Oracle Internet Directory Server into LDIF File Format

See the vendor-supplied documentation for instructions. If flags or options exist for exporting data from the foreign directory, be sure to select the method that:

Produces LDIF output with the least amount of proprietary information included
Provides maximum conformance to the IETF Request for Comments 2849 mentioned in About the Data Migration Process

Task 2: Analyze the LDIF User Data for Any Required Schema Additions Referenced in the LDIF Data

Any attributes not found in the Oracle Internet Directory base schema require extension of the Oracle Internet Directory base schema prior to the importation of the LDIF file. Some directories may support the use of configuration files for defining extensions to their base schema (Oracle Internet Directory does not). If you have a configuration file you can use it as a guideline for extending the base schema in Oracle Internet Directory in "Task 3: Extend the Schema in Oracle Internet Directory".

Task 3: Extend the Schema in Oracle Internet Directory

See Chapter 6, "Directory Schema Administration" for tips on how to extend the directory schema in Oracle Internet Directory. You can do this by using either Oracle Directory Manager or command-line tools.

Task 4: Remove Any Proprietary Directory Data from the LDIF File

Certain elements of the LDAP v3 standard have not yet been formalized, such as ACI attributes. As a result, various directory vendors implement ACI policy objects in ways that do not translate well across vendor installations.

After the basic entry data has been imported from the cleaned up LDIF file to Oracle Internet Directory, you must explicitly reapply security policies in the Oracle Internet Directory environment. You can do this by using either Oracle Directory Manager, or command-line tools and LDIF files containing the desired ACP information.

There may be other proprietary metadata unrelated to access control. You should remove this as well. Understanding the various IETF RFCs can help you determine which directory metadata is proprietary to a given vendor and which complies with the LDAP standards, and is thus portable by way of an LDIF file.

Task 5: Remove Operational Attributes from the LDIF File

Four of the standard LDAP v3 operational attributes, namely, creatorsName, createTimestamp, modifiersName, and modifyTimestamp are automatically generated by Oracle Internet Directory whenever entries are created or imported. It is not possible to instantiate these values from existing directory data, for example by using LDIF file importation. Therefore you should remove these attributes from the file before attempting to import.

Task 6: Remove Incompatible userPassword Attribute Values from the LDIF File

Oracle Internet Directory Release 9.0.2 supports the following userPassword attribute hash algorithms:

No encryption
MD4
MD5
SHA
UNIX Crypt

The userPassword attribute hash values used by some vendor products are not compatible with Oracle Internet Directory. As a result, you must remove all lines corresponding to the userPassword attribute and value from the LDIF data file unless they are represented in plain text or contain no value. After importation of the LDIF data, you must re-enter manually or upload hashed userPassword information separately into the directory.

Task 7: Run the bulkload.sh -check Mode and Determine Any Remaining Schema Violations or Duplication Errors

Before generating and loading an LDIF file, always perform a check on it by using the bulkload utility check mode. The bulkload output reports any inconsistencies in the data.

Note:

To run shell script tools on the Windows operating system, you need one of the following UNIX emulation utilities:

Cygwin 1.0. Visit: http://sources.redhat.com/cygwin/
MKS Toolkit 5.1 or 6.0. Visit: http://www.datafocus.com/products/