meta directory
A meta-directory is a concept developed by Anderson Consulting of a super-directory in which company-wide important information is summarized.
Because enterprise directory services with object classes about personal data, security, resource, network and project information are usually stored in different databases and usually have to be maintained separately, there is a risk that redundant and inconsistent data sets will cause errors. The meta-directory solves this problem by integrating existing directories, data stored anywhere in the enterprise.
With the meta-directory, synchronization mechanisms that combine various standards under one roof, such as X.500 or the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol( LDAP), take the place of a single directory service. The information from the various directory services, such as Novell's NetWare Directory Service( NDS), NIS or the Resource Access Control Facility( RACF) used in mainframe environments, is brought together in the meta-directory structure via agents. Such a super-directory enables a structured, process-oriented and cross- platform management of object classes. The databases are maintained centrally, are therefore consistent and can be shared.
The meta directory, as described by Anderson Consulting, must be technologically and organizationally aligned. It must support the various scenarios of centralized management limited to a few locations in an existing organization. The advantages of meta-directories are that they provide structured system management via administrative hierarchies, they can be administered centrally and decentrally, and data access can be configured down to the attribute level. In addition, data from other applications is available.