To Create of the LDMB backend database, there are two methods to create a database for LDAP,
The first is off-line with the ldif2ldbm command utility
The other is on-line with the ldapadd command utility.
Usually you use the off-line method when you have many thousands of entries to insert into your database and the on-line method when you have only a small number of entries to put into your database. It is also important to note that
The off-line method requires that your
slapddaemon is not runningThe on-line method requires that your
slapddaemon of LDAP is running.
The first thing to do is to create an LDIF input file containing a text representation of your entries. The text file named my-data-file below can be used as an example file. Of course, your
real LDIF input file will handle much more information than this example. When you install OpenLDAP for the first time and have big entries to put in your backend database, it's always a good idea to put all this information into
a text file and add them into your backend database with the ldif2ldbm command utility.
Example 26.1. my-data-file
Create the file, touch /tmp/my-data-file and add as an example in this file the following lines:
dn: o=openna, c=com o: openna objectclass: organization dn: cn=Gerhard Mourani, o=openna, c=com cn: Gerhard Mourani sn: Mourani mail: gmourani@videotron.ca title: Author objectclass: person dn: cn=Anthony Bay, o=openna, c=com cn: Anthony Bay sn: Bay homephone: (444) 111-2233 mobile: (444) 555-6677 mail: abay@openna.com objectclass: person dn: cn=George Parker, o=openna, c=com cn: George Parker sn: Parker telephonenumber: (555) 234-5678 fax: (543) 987-6543 mobile: (543) 321-4354 description: E-Commerce objectclass: personThe above example shows you how to convert your information into LDIF files before adding them to your new backend directory. Consult your OpenLDAP documentation or book for more information.
Once the LDIF input file containing our entries has been created, we must insert it in the LDAP directory server. To insert the LDIF input file and create the database off-line, use the following command:
[root@deep ]/tmp# ldif2ldbm -i <inputfile> -f <slapdconfigfile> [root@deep ]/tmp# ldif2ldbm -i my-data-file -f /etc/openldap/slapd.confThe -i option with the <inputfile> option specifies the location of the LDIF input file containing the entries in text form to add. The <slapdconfigfile> option specifies the location of the slapd configuration file, which specifies where to create the indexes, what indexes to create, etc.
It is important to note that the slapd daemon of LDAP is not started in this mode of creation.