Novell eDirectory - Full Service Directory

Discovery: Identification

Allows an object to have a globally unique name and remain accurate when referenced by the directory.

Directories based on hierarchical naming such as the Novell eDirectory full service directory provide for identification that is unique and durable. Because these names specify no machine or host dependencies, they remain accurate. The result is that directory-style naming is universally valuable. All types of data benefit if made accessible through this highly reliable reference/resolve mechanism.

Example:

Global unique naming ensures that each object in the directory is not duplicated. This is possible because of the hierarchical nature of a full service directory. For example, the figure shows two different users by the name of Jsmith. However, they have unique names because they reside in separate containers. This type of naming is not possible in flat directory structures such as those provided by Netscape and Microsoft.