Design and implementation of secure Web-based LDAP management system

Abstract

As the Internet grows quickly, more and more services are available. How to provide high quality, convenient, and personalized services to users are the important issues for Internet service providers to keep customers connected to their Web sites. The directory is an important part of Internet technology used to support such needs. It exists in a multitude of applications ranging from operating systems, asset management systems, security systems, etc. Furthermore, The Gartner Group, a market research firm, predicts that 40% to 90% of new software and hardware will be directory related products, at end of the period 2001 to 2003. In the directory industry, we can divide products into 3 fields: directory server, management system, and directory application. The management system is one of the important parts of directory services. The directory management system is focused on non-Web-based systems. While directory services are applied on Internet services, it is necessary to provide a Web-based management interface. This interface will provide the advantages of ubiquity, cross platform, thin client, and reduced TCO (total cost of ownership). We proposed and implemented a Web-based lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) management architecture to provide such benefits and to manage multiple LDAP servers. We used the standard protocol and popular software of Internet technology usually used to build the system, so the system is easy to be ported and minimized the changes of the original system. In addition, we also considered the security factors while designing and constructing the system.