Compaq cleans up its directory mess Metadirctory case study. Network World, 7/28/97. Zoomit metadirectory white paper Meta Directories: Let's Talk Deployment From the EMA's Messaging Magazine. The rest of the series: Directories branching out The main article. What directories are and how they work Take these steps to achieve an enterprise directory Microsoft's Active Directory Services may lighten your load Enterprise directory investments pay off Rowe and Blum are principals at Rapport Communication, Inc., an industry consulting company specializing in directories, messaging and groupware. They can be contacted at www.rapport .com.

By Gary Rowe and Daniel Blum
Network World, 9/15/97

Metadirectories are the United Nations of directories - they serve to unify disparate network operating systems (NOS) and application directories so all can peacefully coexist.

Metadirectories are products that combine Lightweight Directory Access Protocol support and an X.500-like schema (or information structure) with rich, proprietary consolidation functions.

Central to the metadirectory concept is the ability to join relevant data from different directory inputs into a single object. For example, a metadirectory could integrate user information from a human resources application directory, NOS directory, telephone directory and five separate e-mail addresses into a single object called "Gary Rowe.'' Metadirectories often can selectively filter which entries are included, enable access controls and provide bidirectional attribute flow between different source directories.

These products provide one of the only ways to achieve enterprise directory services before a fully adopted standard emerges. Early implementations include Control Data Systems, Inc.'s Rialto Global Directory/Meta Edition, Isocor's Global Directory Server, NetVision, Inc.'s Synchronicity for NT Server, WorldTalk Corp.'s NetTalk and Zoomit Corp.'s VIA. Zoomit's product offers far more functionality than other metadirectories, but NetVision has the longest track record in solving the problem of integrating NT and Novell Directory Services (NDS). Expect many other vendors to enter this market next year.

Metadirectories will increasingly expand to tightly integrate with NOS directories, while NOS directories such as NDS and Microsoft Corp.'s Active Directory Services are simultaneously expanding to support metadirectory capabilities.

Will the enterprise directory of the future be a NOS-based directory with metadirectory functionality or a separate metadirectory that supports a diversity of operating systems? It's a bit too early to tell, but both groups of vendors appear to be on the right track.