[Fedora-directory-users] Virtual DIT views vs hierarchical DIT

[Sam Tran]

On 6/24/05, Mike Jackson <mj at sci.fi> wrote:
> Sam Tran wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I just read about the virtual DIT views in the Red Hat Directory
> > Server Deployment Guide.
> >
> > I was wondering how well the virtual DIT views work compare to an
> > hierarchical DIT structure?
> >
> > Generally speaking is it better to have a flat DIT and virtual DIT
> > views than an hierarchical DIT?
> 
> Consider the following scenario:
> 
>   - 1 million user accounts
>   - 100 user groups
>   - 1000 authorization objects
>   - 6000 configuration objects
>   - 20 internal users for applications
> 
> 
> Now, if you put them in seperate branches, then you can scope the
> queries accordingly, and the scoping actually has some effect on search
> response time.
> 
> If you put them all in the same branch, e.g. the root, then scoping your
> search to the virtual branches does not help to speed things up at all,
> afaik. Also, you can exceed the lookthrough limits easier, which can
> make things really slow.
> 
> The law of directory maintenance is that the deeper the hierarchy, the
> more likely it is to change. Because of this, I like to stay relatively
> flat, not more than 2 levels deep in most cases. However, I still would
> never design a flat DIT because I believe that it takes away flexibility
> of some management applications, mostly third-party. And with third
> party applications, you don't have the possibility to modify them to be
> "view compatible".
> 

Mike,

Thanks for your insightful comment.

Any other thoughts, anyone?

Sam