Extending LDAP and creating a constructed attribute

[need2scuba]

I would like to extend ADAM's schema and create a custom attribute called
myManagedBy which allows mulitple objects to be assigned. That's not the
problem though. I would like to also create a myManagedObjects which mirrors
the behavior of the constructed attribute 'managedObjects' only against the
'myManagedBy' attribute instead of the 'managedBy' attribute.

Can anyone point me in the right direction on how-to create\define
'constructed attributes'

Thanks,

 

[Joe Kaplan]

What you are talking about here is a backlink attribute. Backlink is not
quite the same thing as a constructed attribute (you can't actually add
those to the directory), but it has the behavior that you are looking for
which is similar to the relationship between member and memberOf.

The way this is done at a high level is:
- Create a DN syntax attribute as the forward link and assign it to the
class(es) that will use it. Make sure you set the linkID attribute at
creation time to make this attribute a linked attribute. Refer to the MSDN
AD schema mod docs for instructions on how to use "auto link ID generation"
to do this the easy and safe way. If you want it to allow multiple values,
set this as well.
- Create another DN syntax attribute. It *must* allow multiple values and
be assigned to the "top" class. Set its linkID attribute appropriately to
make it a backlink to the forward link you created in the first step (see
again the MSDN schema docs).

Then, when you add a value to the new forward linked attribute with a proper
DN of an object, AD will automatically update the backlinked attribute on
the object you added and will maintain this for you.

Joe K.