PLANNING

Distinguished name syntax in multiple-directory environments
For a multiple directory environment that include entries that reside in both IBM® Domino® and LDAP directories, it's important to understand in what contexts to use an IBM Notes® distinguished name and in what contexts to use an LDAP D distinguished nameN (defined in RFC 2253).

Use a Notes distinguished name (DN) in a Domino database field or ACL, and use an LDAP DN in an LDAP directory attribute.

Name conversions between Notes and LDAP DN syntaxes may be necessary in multiple directory environments. For example, when entering the DN of an entry that resides in an LDAP directory in the ACL of a Domino database (or an additional value of Fullname), convert it to its Notes DN equivalent. Or, when using the Notes DN mapping feature in Directory Assistance, convert the Notes DN to its LDAP equivalent and use that value in the specified attribute of the LDAP directory.

Note: Do not add an LDAP DN as the second value in a Domino Fullname field, as this value is the Notes "Common name" value.

Reference the following table for how to do these conversions.

Table 1. Converting Character Name to LDAP and Notes Distinguished Names
Real Character in Name ComponentLDAP DN RepresentationNotes DN Representation
, <comma>\, <backslash + comma>, <comma>
+ <plus>\+ <backslash + plus>+ <plus>
\ <backslash>\\ <backslash + backslash>\ <backslash>
> <greaterthan>\> <backslash + backslash>> <greaterthan>
< <lessthan>\< <backslash + lessthan>< <lessthan>
; <semicolon>\; <backslash + semicolon>; <semicolon>
" <doublequote>\" <backslash + doublequote>"""
= <equals>\= <backslash + equals>=
# <numbersign>\# <backslah + numbersign>#
@ <atsign>@ <atsign>"@"
/ <slash>/ <slash>"/"

Related tasks
Configuring alias dereferencing in a Directory Assistance document for a remote LDAP directory