Re: scenarios for Directory Synchronization

[Alan Wong <[e-mail]>]

   >Obviously, if a user has more that one e-mail accounts then he/she will
   >be represented twice in the global directory. 

No, this is not obvious, and certainly undesirable.  In a global
context, I want to be able to find a single entry for a user in a
directory, and send mail to them.  I do not want to be faced with two
entries with similar names and have to choose.  What criteria could I
as a remote user base that judgement on?

In simple synchronisation scenarios, having two email accounts does
lead to two entries in the DIT.  This is because the DIT structure is
force by the LAN and post office distribution.  

In most organisations this leads to a false DIT structure that does
not really represent the organisation in the way they want to be
seen.  

With more complex synchronisation management tools it is possible to
overlay details of the two accounts into one entry.  This means you
decide in advance how you want your DIT to look from an organisational
perspective. The synchronisation tools can then overlay the LAN
details onto the DIT defined, deciding on a per user basis, which one
email address to publish, or both.  This allows both LAN systems to be
represented, but joint users to only be visible once.

This is certainly the way I've approached synchronisation in the
systems I've been involved in.  Decide the DIT structure first, map the
data onto it second.  This also facilitates easier integration with
non-LAN systems such as telephone numbers for personnel databases.

Colin