The second major component of the USMS is the meta-directory update system which is referred to as LAMS. This system is responsible for propagating directory updates from USDB to the LDAP directory servers. LAMS also provides a command line interface for making changes in the directory across the master and replicate LDAP servers. The following table summarizes the list of operational modes for LAMS:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Add | Insert a DN |
| Kill | Remove a DN |
| Delete | Remove an attribute of a DN |
| Update | Modify a set of attributes for a DN |
| Modify | Modify attributes of a series of DN's |
| Query | Lookup and display a DN |
The USDB maintains a set of rules which map particular record fields from the relational databases into various attribute elements for each directory object. When the USDB determines that one of the LDAP exported attributes has changed the LAMS system is called to update the directory object. While LAMS operates on the directory objects and their associated attributes, all requests for update and modification services are done via the user's canonical identification IID. The input for requesting changes is made through ASCII files coded in the Lightweight Directory Interchange Format (LDIF).
All changes are propagated from the USDB into the LDAP directory servers in the amount of real-time afforded by the administrative systems that ultimately serve as the authoritative source of user information. Error messages from the update and replication process are posted back to the administrative team via e-mail so that remedial action can be taken to correct errors. The instances of manual intervention is generally quite low. The most common errors arise from incorrect user reference data which typically requires intervention at the USDB level or higher.
The meta-directory update system can be globally disabled so that updates are not propagated to the master and replicate servers. This feature is useful from a system administrations perspective when there is a desire to hold all the directory servers in a known state. The USDB holds the last modification time for an object as well as the last propagation time. After directory updates are re-enabled all changes to the meta-directory information since the last update are propagated into the directory servers.
The USDB also supports the ability to generate a complete LDAP directory load in LDIF format. This file is suitable for building an entirely new LDAP directory server database representing the current state of information under management by the middleware structure. This feature is useful from a disaster recovery perspective as well as for re-synchronizing all directory servers to a known state.
The low cost of the Intel architecture and the OpenLDAP directory server software makes running multiple directory servers economical which in turn yields important benefits from an administrative perspective. The data center implementing this middleware solution uses one primary LDAP server and two replicates. The LDAP connections are mediated through a fourth server running TCP/IP port redirector software. This provides for load-balancing as well as the ability to remove directory servers from the active service rotation. This feature provides an easy mechanism for synchronizing the directory databases while maintaining a high availability profile for directory services.