Lesson: Software Setup
Required Software
Following is a list of the software/systems that you need:
JNDI is included in the Java SE Platform.
To run the applets, you can use any Java-compatible Web browser,
such as
Firefox
, or
Internet Explorer v5 or later.
To ensure that your applets take full advantage of the latest
features of the Java platform software, you can use the
Java Plug-in
with your Web browser.
Note 1:
If you are using JDK release prior to v 1.3, then you can use the
JNDI software available from the
JNDI Web site.
The JNDI API is a generic API for accessing any naming or directory
service.
Actual access to a naming or directory service is enabled by plugging in a
service provider under the JNDI.
An overview of the JNDI architecture and the role of
service providers is given in the
JNDI Overview lesson.
A service provider is software that maps the JNDI API
to actual calls to the naming or directory server.
Typically, the roles
of the service provider and that of the naming/directory server
differ.
In the terminology of client/server software, the JNDI and the service provider
are the client
(called the JNDI client) and
the naming/directory server is the server.
Clients and servers may interact in many ways.
In one common way, they use a network protocol so that the
client and server can exist autonomously in a networked environment.
The server typically supports many different clients,
not only JNDI clients, provided that the clients conform to the
specified protocol.
The JNDI does not dictate any particular style of interaction between
JNDI clients and servers. For example,
at one extreme the client and server could be
the same entity.
You need to obtain the classes for the service providers that you will
be using.
For example, if you plan to use the JNDI to access
an LDAP directory server, then you would need software for
an LDAP service provider.
The JDK comes with service providers for:
- Light Weight Directory Protocol (LDAP)
- CORBA Common Object Services naming (COS naming)
- RMI registry
- Domain Name Service (DNS)
If you are interested in other providers please check the
JNDI Web site for download information.
Note 2:
The above service providers are bundled with JDK since
v 1.3 except the DNS service Provider which was made available since
JDK v 1.4.
This tutorial uses only the LDAP Service provider.
When using the LDAP service provider, you need either to
set up your own server or to have access to an
existing server, as explained next.
Once you have obtained the service provider software, you
then need to set up or have
access to a corresponding naming/directory server.
Setting up a naming/directory server is typically the job of a network
system administrator.
Different vendors have different installation procedures for
their naming/directory servers.
Some require special machine privileges before the server can be installed.
You should consult the naming/directory server software's installation
instructions.
For the directory examples in this tutorial, you need
access to an LDAP server.
If you would like to take a quick tour of what
LDAP is check out here.
You can use any LDAP-compliant server of your choice.
The Sun Java Directory Server, which runs on many platforms, including Windows,
is available for evaluation at:
Sun Java Directory Server home.
You can also download free LDAP servers below:
A publicly accessible server is available at: ldap://ldap.openldap.org Naming Context: dc=OpenLDAP,dc=org
