LDAP vs OpenLDAP

Overview

OpenLDAP

Stacks95

Followers132

Votes0

LDAP

Stacks76

Followers70

Votes0

LDAP vs OpenLDAP: What are the differences?

Key Difference 1: Implementation of Standards - The main difference between LDAP and OpenLDAP is that LDAP is a protocol while OpenLDAP is an open-source implementation of the LDAP protocol. LDAP, or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, is an industry-standard protocol used for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over a network. OpenLDAP, on the other hand, refers to the open-source implementation of LDAP, providing a powerful solution for managing directory services.
Key Difference 2: Licensing - Another key difference is the licensing. LDAP itself is not governed by any specific license, but various LDAP server implementations, including OpenLDAP, may have different licensing terms. OpenLDAP, being an open-source project, is typically licensed under the OpenLDAP Public License or similar open-source licenses, allowing users to use, modify, and distribute the software freely.
Key Difference 3: Development Community - LDAP has a broad adoption and support from various vendors, while OpenLDAP has a specific development community. LDAP as a protocol is supported by many directory services, such as Microsoft Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, and Oracle Internet Directory. OpenLDAP, on the other hand, is maintained and developed by the OpenLDAP Project, which is a specific community that focuses on developing and improving the OpenLDAP software.
Key Difference 4: Features and Functionality - LDAP, being a protocol, defines the standard operations and attributes for directory services, providing a basic set of features and functionality. However, the specific implementation, such as OpenLDAP, may offer additional features and extensions beyond the standard LDAP protocol. OpenLDAP, for example, supports features like replication, access control, and dynamic backend database options, enhancing its functionality compared to the basic LDAP protocol.
Key Difference 5: Support and Documentation - As LDAP is an industry-standard protocol, there is extensive support and documentation available from various sources for implementing and using LDAP-based directory services. However, OpenLDAP, being an open-source implementation, may have a dedicated support community and documentation specific to its features and configuration. Users of OpenLDAP can benefit from the expertise and resources provided by the OpenLDAP community for troubleshooting and getting assistance.
Key Difference 6: Customization and Flexibility - LDAP as a protocol provides a standardized way to access and store directory information services. OpenLDAP, being an open-source implementation, offers greater flexibility and customization options compared to other LDAP server implementations. It allows users to modify and extend the software to meet specific requirements, making it suitable for a wide range of directory service applications.

In Summary, LDAP and OpenLDAP differ in their implementation standards, licensing, development community, features and functionality, support and documentation, as well as customization and flexibility.

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Detailed Comparison

OpenLDAP	LDAP
It is a free, open-source implementation of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. Lightweight Directory Access is an application protocol that is used to crosscheck information on the server end.	It is a mature, flexible, and well supported standards-based mechanism for interacting with directory servers. It’s often used for authentication and storing information about users, groups, and applications, but an LDAP directory server is a fairly general-purpose data store and can be used in a wide variety of applications.
-	Lightweight directory access protocol; Used for authentication and storing information; General-purpose data store
Statistics
Stacks 95	Stacks 76
Followers 132	Followers 70
Votes 0	Votes 0

What are some alternatives to OpenLDAP, LDAP?

Auth0

A set of unified APIs and tools that instantly enables Single Sign On and user management to all your applications.

Stormpath

Stormpath is an authentication and user management service that helps development teams quickly and securely build web and mobile applications and services.

Keycloak

It is an Open Source Identity and Access Management For Modern Applications and Services. It adds authentication to applications and secure services with minimum fuss. No need to deal with storing users or authenticating users. It's all available out of the box.

Devise

Devise is a flexible authentication solution for Rails based on Warden

Firebase Authentication

It provides backend services, easy-to-use SDKs, and ready-made UI libraries to authenticate users to your app. It supports authentication using passwords, phone numbers, popular federated identity providers like Google,

Amazon Cognito

You can create unique identities for your users through a number of public login providers (Amazon, Facebook, and Google) and also support unauthenticated guests. You can save app data locally on users’ devices allowing your applications to work even when the devices are offline.

WorkOS

Start selling to enterprise customers with just a few lines of code.

OAuth.io

OAuth is a protocol that aimed to provide a single secure recipe to manage authorizations. It is now used by almost every web application. However, 30+ different implementations coexist. OAuth.io fixes this massive problem by acting as a universal adapter, thanks to a robust API. With OAuth.io integrating OAuth takes minutes instead of hours or days.

OmniAuth

OmniAuth is a Ruby authentication framework aimed to abstract away the difficulties of working with various types of authentication providers. It is meant to be hooked up to just about any system, from social networks to enterprise systems to simple username and password authentication.

ORY Hydra

It is a self-managed server that secures access to your applications and APIs with OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect. It is OpenID Connect Certified and optimized for latency, high throughput, and low resource consumption.

Related Comparisons

LDAP vs OpenLDAP: What are the differences?

Key Difference 1: Implementation of Standards - The main difference between LDAP and OpenLDAP is that LDAP is a protocol while OpenLDAP is an open-source implementation of the LDAP protocol. LDAP, or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, is an industry-standard protocol used for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over a network. OpenLDAP, on the other hand, refers to the open-source implementation of LDAP, providing a powerful solution for managing directory services.
Key Difference 2: Licensing - Another key difference is the licensing. LDAP itself is not governed by any specific license, but various LDAP server implementations, including OpenLDAP, may have different licensing terms. OpenLDAP, being an open-source project, is typically licensed under the OpenLDAP Public License or similar open-source licenses, allowing users to use, modify, and distribute the software freely.
Key Difference 3: Development Community - LDAP has a broad adoption and support from various vendors, while OpenLDAP has a specific development community. LDAP as a protocol is supported by many directory services, such as Microsoft Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, and Oracle Internet Directory. OpenLDAP, on the other hand, is maintained and developed by the OpenLDAP Project, which is a specific community that focuses on developing and improving the OpenLDAP software.
Key Difference 4: Features and Functionality - LDAP, being a protocol, defines the standard operations and attributes for directory services, providing a basic set of features and functionality. However, the specific implementation, such as OpenLDAP, may offer additional features and extensions beyond the standard LDAP protocol. OpenLDAP, for example, supports features like replication, access control, and dynamic backend database options, enhancing its functionality compared to the basic LDAP protocol.
Key Difference 5: Support and Documentation - As LDAP is an industry-standard protocol, there is extensive support and documentation available from various sources for implementing and using LDAP-based directory services. However, OpenLDAP, being an open-source implementation, may have a dedicated support community and documentation specific to its features and configuration. Users of OpenLDAP can benefit from the expertise and resources provided by the OpenLDAP community for troubleshooting and getting assistance.
Key Difference 6: Customization and Flexibility - LDAP as a protocol provides a standardized way to access and store directory information services. OpenLDAP, being an open-source implementation, offers greater flexibility and customization options compared to other LDAP server implementations. It allows users to modify and extend the software to meet specific requirements, making it suitable for a wide range of directory service applications.

LDAP vs OpenLDAP

Overview