LDAP directory services versus the Sybase interfaces file

The LDAP driver implements directory services for use with an LDAP server. LDAP directories are an infrastructure that provide:

A network-based alternative to the traditional Sybase interfaces file
A single, hierarchical view of information, including users, software, resources, networks, files, and so on

Table 1-1 highlights the differences between the Sybase interfaces file and an LDAP server.

**Table 1-1: interfaces file versus LDAP directory services**
interfaces file	Directory services
Platform-specific	Platform-independent
Specific to each Sybase installation	Centralized and hierarchical
Contains separate master and query entries	One entry for each server that is accessed by both clients and servers
Cannot store metadata about the server	Stores metadata about the server

Performance

Performance when using an LDAP server may be slower than when using an interfaces file because the LDAP server requires time to make a network connection and retrieve data. Since this connection is made when Adaptive Server is started, changes in performance will be seen at login time, if at all. During normal system load, the delay should not be noticeable. During high system load with many connections, especially repeated connections with short duration, the overall performance difference of using an LDAP server versus the traditional interfaces file might be noticeable.