Originating Updates: Initiating Changes

A Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory server supports the following four types of update requests:

• Add an object to the directory.
• Modify (add, delete, or replace) attribute values of an object in the directory.
• Move an object by changing the name or parent of the object.
• Delete an object from the directory.

An LDAP directory server processes each write request as an atomic transaction. Separate LDAP requests are separate write transactions. A write request either commits and all its effects are durable, or it fails before completion and has no effect. A write request that commits is called an originating update. An originating update is initiated and committed at a specific replica. The absolute success or failure of an update applies even for requests, such as Add or Modify, that might affect several attributes of a single object. In this case, if one attribute update fails, they all fail and the object is not updated.

When an update that originates on one domain controller is replicated to another domain controller, the update on the nonoriginating domain controller is called a replicated update and is distinguished by the replication system from an originating update.

An originating update enforces schema restrictions (allowable parent object types for an object, mandatory and optional attributes for an object, syntax for an attribute) according to the schema that exists on the domain controller at the moment of the update.

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