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Internet Exchange Frequently Asked Questions

Internet Exchange Directory Server
Common Client Configuration Problems

Introduction
Depending upon the directory client used, there may be problems in retrieving data from the Internet Exchange Directory Server.   This document describes the problem and one such solution for the Microsoft Internet Explorer Directory User Agent.

Background
The Internet Exchange Directory Server utilizes the Domain Component naming style as defined in RFC-2377 to organize the LDAP directory data.  This is a hierarchical naming convention, which mirrors the one used within the Domain Name System (DNS).  Each LDAP Directory Server needs to specify the root suffix which defines the directory zone managed by the server.

For LDAP servers that manage a single DNS defined domain, the root suffix is set to reflect this domain name.   For the IMA.COM domain for instance, the root suffix could be defined as "dc=ima, dc=com".  With such a configuration, all data stored in this particular LDAP server would represent data for only the IMA.COM domain.

The Internet Exchange Directory Server has been setup to allow the configuration of data for multiple domains.   In order to support multiple domains by a single LDAP backend, the Internet Exchange Directory Server defines the root suffix to be "" (NULL).

Directory Client Configuration Issues
As the Internet Exchange Directory Server uses a NULL root suffix, it is necessary in some Directory Clients to specifically configure them to recognize this.   The client provided with Microsoft's Outlook Express is one such client.

To configure Outlook Express to work properly with the Internet Exchange Directory Server, simply go to the Advanced Properties section in the configuration of the Directory Server you wish to connect to.  In the "Search Base" field, simply enter NULL.  This will cause the Outlook Express clilent to search the entire LDAP directory.   Alternatively, if only a portion of the LDAP database is of interest, the specific subtree can be defined.    For instance if you are only interested in searching within the IMA.COM domain, regardless of any other domains defined by this server, the "Search Base" can be set to dc=ima, dc=com.