Configuration Guide › Creating an Identity Manager Directory for a Relational Database › How to Describe a Database in a Directory Configuration File

How to Describe a Database in a Directory Configuration File

To manage a database, CA Identity Manager must understand the database structure and content. To describe the database to CA Identity Manager, create a directory configuration file (directory.xml).

The directory configuration file contains one or more of the following sections:

• Identity Manager Directory Information

  Contains information about the Identity Manager directory that is used by CA Identity Manager.

• Attribute Validation

  Defines the validation rules that apply to the Identity Manager directory.

• Provider Information

  Describes the user store that CA Identity Manager will manage.

• Directory Search Information

  Enables you to specify how CA Identity Manager searches the user store.

• User Object

  Describes how users are stored in the user store and represented in CA Identity Manager.

• Group Object

  Describes how groups are stored in the user store and represented in CA Identity Manager.

• Organization Object

  When the user store includes organizations, describes how organizations are stored and represented in CA Identity Manager.

• Self-Subscribing Groups

  Configures support for groups that self-service users can join.

The directory where you installed the administrative tools for CA Identity Manager includes the following directory configuration file template for relational databases:

admin_tools\directoryTemplates\RelationalDatabase\directory.xml

admin_tools

Defines the installed location of Identity Manager administrative tools, as in the following examples:

• Windows: C:\Program Files\CA\Identity Manager\IAM Suite\Identity Manager\tools
• UNIX: /opt/CA/IdentityManager/IAM_Suite/Identity_Manager/tools

Note: The directory configuration file template in directoryTemplates\RelationalDatabase is configured for environments that support organizations. To see a directory configuration file for an environment that does not include organizations, you can look at the directory.xml file for the NeteAuto sample, which is located in admin_tools\samples\NeteAutoRDB\NoOrganization

Copy the configuration template to a new directory or save it with a different name to prevent overwriting it. You can then modify the template to reflect your database structure.

The directory configuration file has two important conventions:

• ##—Indicates required values.

  To provide all of the required information, locate all double pound signs (##) and replace them with appropriate values. For example, ##PASSWORD_HINT indicates that you must supply an attribute to store a question that a user answers to receive a temporary password in the case of a forgotten password.

• @—Indicates values that CA Identity Manager populates. Do not modify these values in the directory configuration file. CA Identity Manager prompts you to supply the values when you import the directory configuration file.

Before you modify the directory configuration file, you need the following information:

• Table names for the user, group, and organization objects (when your structure includes organizations)
• A list of attributes in user, group, and organization profiles (when your structure includes organizations)