{{Short description|Directory service software}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox software | name = NetIQ eDirectory | logo = | developer = OpenText (via NetIQ) | latest release version = 9.2.9 | latest release date = {{release date|2024|01}} | latest preview version = | latest preview date = | operating system = Cross-platform | genre = Directory service | license = Proprietary | website = {{URL|https://www.netiq.com/documentation/edirectory-92/}} }} '''eDirectory''' (formerly '''Novell Directory Services''' or '''NDS''', also marketed as '''NetWare Directory Services''') is an X.500-compatible directory service from NetIQ, a subsidiary of OpenText. First released by Novell in 1993 with NetWare 4, it replaced the per-server bindery mechanism of earlier NetWare versions with a network-wide, hierarchical, LDAP-accessible directory. eDirectory represents organizational assets—users, groups, servers, printers, applications, and services—in a logical tree structure and supports multi-master replication, dynamic rights inheritance, and partitioning across multiple servers.
== History ==
=== NetWare bindery and the origins of NDS (1993) ===
Before NetWare 4, Novell networks used the ''bindery'', a flat-file, per-server database storing user accounts and resource access rights locally on each server. Administrators had to maintain separate accounts on every server a user needed to access, and users had to authenticate to each server individually. The bindery had no extensible schema and no inter-server relationships.
Novell designed NDS as a network-wide hierarchical replacement based in part on the X.500 directory standard developed by the ITU and ISO, while deliberately departing from strict X.500 adherence to allow future extensibility.<ref name="nds-intro-1993">{{cite journal |last=Herbon |first=Gamal B. |title=An Introduction to NetWare Directory Services |journal=Novell AppNotes |date=April 1993 |url=https://support.novell.com/techcenter/articles/ana19930402.html |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> NDS shipped with NetWare 4.0 in April 1993, providing a single sign-on model in which a user authenticates once and gains access to all authorized network resources. The directory tree followed X.500 object classes, with Country, Organization, and Organizational Unit containers at its upper levels.
=== LDAP support (1996) ===
Novell shipped LDAP Services for NDS on December 27, 1996—announced publicly in January 1997—making it among the first comprehensive LDAP server implementations available for an enterprise directory.<ref>{{cite web |title=Novell Delivers First Comprehensive LDAP-Based Directory Service |url=https://support.novell.com/techcenter/articles/dnd19970208.html |publisher=Novell |date=February 1997 |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> LDAP Services ran on NetWare 4.1, IntranetWare, and NetWare 4.11 and was available free for download.
=== NDS version 8 and the FLAIM database (1999) ===
Versions of NDS prior to version 8 used a record-based storage engine called Recman, which depended on the Transaction Tracking System built into NetWare. In May 1999, Novell shipped NDS 8 (version 8.1x), replacing Recman with the FLAIM (FLexible Adaptable Information Manager) embeddable database engine. FLAIM removed previous object-count limits and was also adopted by the GroupWise collaboration suite from version 5. In November 1999, Novell released eDirectory 8 (version 8.3x) for NetWare, Solaris, Windows NT, and Linux, marking the product's cross-platform debut and the introduction of the ''eDirectory'' brand name.
Novell released FLAIM as open-source software under the GNU General Public License in February 2006.<ref>{{cite web |title=FLAIM |url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/flaim/ |website=SourceForge |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref>
=== Competition with Active Directory ===
Microsoft introduced Active Directory with Windows 2000 Server, which reached manufacturing in December 1999 and went to retail in February 2000. Active Directory was also X.500-inspired and LDAP-based, competing directly with eDirectory in the enterprise directory market. By the mid-2000s, Active Directory had captured the dominant share of that market among organizations running Windows infrastructure.
=== Acquisition by Attachmate and NetIQ (2011) ===
Attachmate acquired Novell on April 27, 2011 for $2.2 billion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Novell Completes Merger With Attachmate and Patent Sale to CPTN Holdings LLC |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/novell-completes-merger-with-attachmate-and-patent-sale-to-cptn-holdings-llc-120784114.html |website=PR Newswire |date=April 27, 2011 |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> Attachmate, which had previously acquired NetIQ in 2006, reorganized Novell's identity and security products—including eDirectory—under the NetIQ brand.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tung |first=Liam |title=Attachmate splits Novell acquisition into NetIQ, SUSE divisions |url=https://www.eweek.com/security/attachmate-splits-novell-acquisition-into-netiq-suse-divisions/ |work=eWeek |date=May 27, 2011 |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> The product has been marketed as ''NetIQ eDirectory'' since that reorganization.
=== Acquisition by Micro Focus (2014) ===
Micro Focus International completed its acquisition of the Attachmate Group on November 5, 2014,<ref>{{cite web |title=Micro Focus International Completes Merger with The Attachmate Group |url=https://www.suse.com/news/micro-focus-international-completes-merger-with-the-attachmate-group/ |publisher=SUSE |date=November 5, 2014 |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> absorbing the Novell, NetIQ, Attachmate, and SUSE product lines.
=== Acquisition by OpenText (2023) ===
OpenText acquired Micro Focus and closed the transaction on February 1, 2023 for approximately $5.8 billion,<ref>{{cite web |title=OpenText Buys Micro Focus |url=https://investors.opentext.com/press-releases/press-releases-details/2023/OpenText-Buys-Micro-Focus/default.aspx |publisher=OpenText |date=February 1, 2023 |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> making OpenText the current owner of the eDirectory product line. The software continues to be distributed under the NetIQ brand.
== Features == [[File:CWorthy3.png|thumb|NetWare eDirectory CWorthy management tool]] eDirectory uses dynamic rights inheritance, allowing both global and specific access controls. Access rights to objects in the tree are determined at the time of the request based on object location, security equivalences, and individual assignments. The software supports partitioning at any point in the tree and replication of any partition to any number of servers. Replication between servers occurs using incremental deltas. Each server holding a non-read-only replica can act as a master of its information. Replicas may be filtered to include only defined attributes—for example, a replica configured for use as a corporate address book containing only name and phone number.
The software supports referential integrity and multi-master replication. It can be accessed via LDAP, DSML, SOAP, ODBC, JDBC, JNDI, and ADSI.
== Supported platforms ==
Current supported platforms for eDirectory 9.2.x include:<ref name="relnotes929">{{cite web |title=NetIQ eDirectory 9.2.9 Release Notes |url=https://www.netiq.com/documentation/edirectory-92/edirectory929_releasenotes/data/edirectory929_releasenotes.html |publisher=NetIQ |date=January 2024 |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref>
* SUSE Linux Enterprise Server * Red Hat Enterprise Linux * Microsoft Windows Server * Oracle Solaris
Legacy platforms supported in earlier versions included Novell NetWare, IBM AIX, HP-UX, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008.
== Network configuration == thumb|A Novell eDirectory tree showing server configuration objects including organizational units, user groups, print queues, disk volumes, and LDAP, DNS, and DHCP configuration Novell designed eDirectory to store operational server configuration data alongside user account information. A typical eDirectory tree contains objects representing servers, software services (such as LDAP, email, and DNS), print queues, and network configuration (such as DHCP). This differs from directory services that store only identity information.
== Storage ==
Versions of eDirectory prior to version 8 used Recman, a record-based database management engine that depended on the Transaction Tracking System built into the NetWare operating system. Since version 8, eDirectory uses the FLAIM (FLexible Adaptable Information Management) database engine, also used by the GroupWise collaboration suite from version 5. Novell released FLAIM as open-source software under the GPL in February 2006,<ref>{{cite web |title=FLAIM |url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/flaim/ |website=SourceForge |access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> enabling eDirectory to run on platforms beyond NetWare.
== Further reading == * {{cite book |last=Killpack |first=Rick |title=eDirectory Field Guide |publisher=Apress |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59059-553-4}} * {{cite book |last=Kuo |first=Peter |last2=Henderson |first2=Jim |title=Novell's Guide to Troubleshooting eDirectory |publisher=Novell Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7897-3146-3}} * {{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Jeffrey F. |title=Novell's Cross Platform Guide to eDirectory |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7645-4915-1}} * {{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Jeffrey F. |title=Effective eDirectory Design and Proactive Analysis |publisher=Directory Design |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-9717420-0-0}}
== See also == * Active Directory * OpenLDAP * List of LDAP software
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.netiq.com/documentation/edirectory-92/ NetIQ eDirectory 9.2 documentation]
{{OpenText}} {{Novell}}
Category:OpenText eDirectory EDirectory Category:Directory services Category:Proprietary software Category:Software using the GNU General Public License Category:1993 software Category:X.500