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389 Directory Server not only contains information, it organizes information. Because of its extensibility, LDAP servers like 389 Directory Server are frequently used as backends that store data for other applications. They have a flexible schema that supports entries for users, machines, network entities, physical equipment, and buildings, and that schema can be customized to define entries of almost anything. LDAP directories like 389 Directory Server are generic directories. While directory services can be highly specific (for example, DNS is a directory service because it stores information on hostnames), a generic directory service can store and retrieve any kind of information.
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A directory service is a collection of software, hardware, and processes that stores information. First, it helps to understand what a directory service is.
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