Re: Unix sockets connection to server ?

["Kurt D. Zeilenga" <kurt@boolean.net>]

At 09:19 AM 11/16/99 +1100, Gerrit Thomson wrote:
>Hi Folks,
>    I appologise if this is the wrong list. Having just fixed a couple
>of bugs in the group based access control I began to wonder about the
>client server interfaces available.

Well, any bugs you have you should report using the appropriate
tracking mechanism for that software package.  If you want to report
OpenLDAP bugs, please report them using the OpenLDAP Issue Tracking
System (http://www.openldap.org/its/).  Also, you can discuss bugs
on our -bugs mailing list (http://www.openldap.org/lists/).  And
discussions concerning OpenLDAP software should be taken to the
software list.  And questions concerning development of OpenLDAP
should be taken to OpenLDAP devel list.

I will answer your question in the context of this list: a general,
non-openldap specific context.

>I have a concern with performance and am looking to use replica servers
>sapttered around my environment so that a service required to use the
>ldap server for lookups can look on the local machine. For instance a
>machine dedicated to running INN news service needing to do user lookup
>and authentication would look to the local replica on the same machine.

You may want to consider using (implementing if necessary) an LDAP
caching proxy on these systems.

>I have no particular problem about replicating to a dozen or so machines
>but I wondered about performance. Even if the ldap server is on the same
>machine to only link to it at the moment is via the ip interface. I
>wondered that sonce many other servers (irc, inn, sql) implement a unix
>sockets interface if anyone had looked to implement this for ldap.  I
>understand the speed difference is significant when using services such
>as mysql.

I assume you are referring to sockets created of the UNIX protocol
family as opposed to sockets of the INET protocol family.  Both can
be created using the Unix socket interface.

UNIX protocol family sockets, in general, out perform INET
protocol family sockets (even those using loopback) as the TCP/IP
stack is quite expensive.

However, I do not know of any LDAP application (client or server)
which supports UNIX protocol family sockets.  I believe this is
because LDAP is viewed an an Internet protocol not as a
Interprocess protocol.

To add support for UNIX protocol family sockets may require you
extend the LDAP information model in some areas.  In particular,
you may need to define an URL format for LDAP over UNIX IPC.

>BY the way, whome do I submit my bug fixs to ?

See above.

----
Kurt D. Zeilenga		<kurt@boolean.net>
Net Boolean Incorporated	<http://www.boolean.net/>