Administration Guide › Rarely-Used Features › Set Up Class-of-Service Templates

Set Up Class-of-Service Templates

We recommend that you use views instead of class-of-service templates. Views provide the same functionality but allow for data to be stored in the directory rather than files. This protects your data and allows for backups, replication, and maintenance.

However, views do have some limitations in how information is retrieved. You could use class-of-service templates instead of views if you cannot change the applications to support the data access limitations.

When directory information needs to be shared across multiple entries, the shared information can be stored in an class-of-service template. A class-of-service template stores information that can then be included in many entries. Class-of-service templates can reduce the size of a directory, help keep data consistent, and reduce the time required for bulk updates.

When a search returns an entry that contains an attribute from the class-of-service template, the attributes and values from the associated template are included in the entry.

This means that the information in class-of-service templates is stored only once, which is good for three reasons:

• Directory size is reduced
• Simple bulk updates are faster
• Information is consistent

The shared information is usually a level of service, such as a standard or premium subscription to an Internet Service Provider.