LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is primarily used to interact with and manage directory services, like Microsoft Active Directory or OpenLDAP. Its main purpose is:
Authentication: Verifying the identity of a user by checking their credentials (e.g., username and password) stored in the directory.
Authorization: Determining access permissions based on the user's attributes and group memberships within the directory.
While LDAP can be used in conjunction with other technologies to achieve the functionalities described in A, C, and D, its core function is providing a standardized way to access and query directory information. This is most often used for authentication (verifying a user's identity) and authorization (determining what a user is allowed to access).
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A) To manage directory service hierarchies and user access permissions: While LDAP reflects these hierarchies and permissions, the management is typically handled by the directory service itself (like Active Directory or OpenLDAP), not LDAP directly. LDAP is the protocol used to access this management information.
C) To synchronize user accounts across multiple directory servers: Synchronization is usually handled by other tools or protocols built on top of or alongside LDAP. LDAP itself doesn't inherently handle synchronization.
D) To maintain distributed directory replication and failover: Replication and failover are features of the directory service implementation (like multi-master replication in some LDAP servers), not LDAP itself. LDAP is the access method, not the replication mechanism.