Dictionary · Protocols and Ports
LDAP
LDAP — Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
Directory · Intermediate
A protocol for reading and updating a directory of users, groups, and other objects. The usual cleartext port is 389. Production directories should protect the session.
Applications ask a directory who someone is and which groups they belong to. The directory is the database; this is the language used to talk to it.
Example: A mail server looks up a person's group membership before allowing access to a shared mailbox.
Ports
- TCP 389 — Directory access
Common misconception
- The directory product and this access protocol are not the same thing. One is the service, the other is how clients speak to it.