Administration Guide › Set Up Schemas › Schemas

Schemas

A schema is a formal definition of the contents and structure of the directory data. It governs where each entry can be placed within the directory structure, how entries are to be named, and what attributes each entry can contain.

When a DSA starts up, it reads the schema configuration files, which contain schema rules. The DSA enforces these rules on the directory data.

These rules define the following:

• The names of the various types of attributes that can exist in an entry
• The syntax (or data type) of each of these attributes
• Which attributes in each object class (a defined group of attributes) are mandatory and which are optional
• How each directory entry is named (for example, a person is named by his or her common-name attribute)
• Where the directory entry can be created in the namespace (DIT). For example, an OrganizationalUnit entry can only exist under an Organization entry.

The schema of a running directory is available to LDAP clients through the LDAP Version 3 mechanism of schema publishing. For more information, see Schema Publishing.

More information:

Schema Files Provided with CA Directory