An NDS structure that stores information about a network resource (such as a user, group, printer, or volume).

An object consists of categories of information, called properties, and the data in those properties. The information is stored in the Novell Directory database.

Some objects represent physical entities. For example, a User object represents a user and a Printer object represents a printer.

Some objects represent logical entities, such as groups and print queues. Other objects, such as the Organizational Unit object, help you organize and manage objects.

Remember that an object is a structure where information about the entity is stored; it isn't the actual entity.

For example, a Printer object stores information about a printer and helps manage how the printer is used, but it isn't the printer itself.

Types of Objects

Two types of objects make up the Directory tree: container objects and leaf objects.

A subtree, or branch, of the Directory tree consists of a container object and all the objects it holds, which can include other container objects.

Leaf objects are at the ends of branches and don't contain other objects.

The following figure shows how container objects and leaf objects make up the Directory tree.

Figure 55
Objects in a Directory Tree

Container objects hold, or contain, other objects. Container objects are used as a way to logically organize all other objects in the Directory tree.

The [Root] object is also considered a container object, but it is the very first object in the Directory tree, and it cannot be deleted or modified. All other objects, including Organization objects, are contained within the [Root] object.

Container objects are like directories in a file system in that they group related information together. If a container object has objects in it, it is called a parent object.

Types of container objects. There are three types of container objects, described in the following table:

Table 14. Types of Container Objects

Country objects can contain Organization objects or Alias objects (a leaf object, described in the next section).

Organization and Organizational Unit objects can contain Organizational Unit objects or leaf objects.

Types of leaf objects. Leaf objects don't contain other objects. They represent network resources, such as users, computers, printers, and lists. The following table describes leaf objects:

Table 15. Types of Leaf Objects

Location of Objects in the Directory Tree

In a Directory tree, you can place container objects and leaf objects in different configurations, according to your company's needs. The following figure shows possible configurations:

Figure 56
Possible Configurations for a Directory Tree

The Country and Organizational Unit objects are optional, but you must include at least one Organization object in your Directory tree.

You aren't limited to using only one container object in a tree; you can use many at each level. The following figure shows an example Directory tree that has several container objects at each level:

Figure 57
Example Directory Tree with Several Container Objects

The path from an object to the root of the Directory tree forms the object's complete name, which is a unique name. Most leaf objects also have a common name. For User objects, the common name is their login name, displayed in the Directory tree.

Other leaf objects also have common names displayed in the Directory tree, such as a Printer object name or a Server object name.

Container objects don't have common names. They are referred to by their Organizational Unit name, or Organization name, or Country name.

An object's complete name consists of its common name (if it has one), followed by a period (.), then the name of the container object, also followed by a period, and on up through succeeding container object names to the root of the tree.

For example, in the following figure the complete name for ESAYERS would be

ESAYERS.SALES PV.SALES.NOVELL US

Figure 58
Complete and Common Names

When querying the Directory, you can supply the object's complete name to receive information that describes that object.

Or, you can supply an object's property value and receive a list of object names that have that value.

For example, to find all users with a last name of Smith, search for Smith in the last name property of User objects.

Object Contexts

NDS allows you to refer to objects according to their positions within a tree. When you add an object (such as a server or user) to the network, you place that object in a container object in the Directory tree.

The position of the object within its container is its context. For example, in the previous figure, the context for User object ESAYERS is SALES PV.SALES.NOVELL US.

When you move from one container object to another, you change contexts. Whenever you change contexts, you must indicate the complete name of the object you are changing contexts to. (If you're changing to a context that includes spaces between words, be sure to include an underscore in place of the space.)

If you are referring to an object in the same container object as your User object, then you need only refer to that object by its common name, not its complete name.

For example, in the previous figure, if ESAYERS located in SALES PV.SALES.NOVELL US wants information on ESMITH located in the same context, then ESAYERS need only refer to the User object as ESMITH.

Object Properties

Each type of object has certain properties that hold information about the object.

For example, some User object properties include the login name, password restrictions, and group memberships. Some Profile object properties are the profile name, login script, and volume.

The only properties required for objects are those you enter when you create a new object. You must enter a value in each field.

Properties you must specify when you create an object are

• Properties that name the object

• Properties required to create the object but that don't name it

  For example, when you create a Volume object, you must specify the volume's host server.

Many of an object's properties can contain multiple values. For example, the telephone number property, found in many object types, can contain several different telephone numbers.

The NETADMIN and NetWare Administrator utilities allow you to see and change properties for any object to which you have sufficient rights.