Blog on Charlie’s Server

Since yesterday, I’ve been using LDAP as an address book for all Gentoo developers. I am running my own LDAP directory for just this purpose, and have imported all developers’ e-mail addresses and full names as reflected by the public Gentoo Developer List page. I’ve opened the server to the public and allowed anonymous read-only access.

You should all be warned that I’m by no means an LDAP guru of any sort. My first real encounter with LDAP administration was yesterday’s effort, and was more or less limited to emerge openldap, vim /etc/openldap/slapd.conf, /etc/init.d/slapd start, and a few ldapadd calls. I by no means claim any proficiency in this field, and there are bound to be problems. Please let me know what they are when you find them.

Access has been tested using Apple’s Address Book application both locally and remotely. To access the directory, use the following connection settings.

Server: ldap.charlies-server.no-ip.com
Search Base: ou=gentoo,ou=addressbook,dc=charlies-server,dc=no-ip,dc=com
Port: 389

Also, note that all of the information in the directory already is and has been 100% public, regardless of my LDAP server. All I’m doing is making this information more accessible; I’m not exposing any new information to the public. By this nature, there should be no privacy concerns that didn’t already exist. If anyone specifically wishes to be excluded from the directory, notify me personally and I will ensure your removal.

Currently, only the following data is available on each Gentoo developer via the directory:

• Given Names
• Surname
• Gentoo E-Mail Address

Please note the following important details:

• This service is by no means an official Gentoo service.
• This service is not endorsed by the Gentoo Infrastructure team, or any other members of the Gentoo community, for that matter.
• The directory data is not automatically updated, yet.
• This service is incomplete and unfinished. It is experimental, and is expected to break from time to time.
• This service can be expected to be at best as reliable as the server it’s on, which isn’t the most reliable in the world.

Before anyone asks, I do plan on increasing the amount of available data on the directory. It’s just a matter of actually parsing the available data out there and getting it into LDIF format. If anyone particularly wants to help, drop me a line.

Lastly, if anyone has any ideas for improvement, feel free to leave me a comment. The service works perfectly for me as is, but I’m generally willing to accommodate requests given that I have or can get the time and expertise required.