LDAP bind methods

There are two LDAP methods that you use to authenticate your Vertica database against an LDAP server.

• Bind—Use LDAP bind when Vertica connects to the LDAP server and binds using the CN and password. (These values are the username and password of the user logging into the database). Use the bind method when your LDAP account's CN field matches that of the username defined in your database. For more information see Workflow for configuring LDAP bind.

• Search and Bind —Use LDAP search and bind when your LDAP account's CN field is a user's full name or does not match the username defined in your database. For search and bind, the username is usually in another field such as UID or sAMAccountName in a standard Active Directory environment. Search and bind requires your organization's Active Directory information. This information allows Vertica to log into the LDAP server and search for the specified field. For more information see Workflow for configuring LDAP search and bind.

  If you are using search and bind, having a service account simplifies your server side configuration. In addition, you do not need to store your Active Directory password.

LDAP anonymous binding

Anonymous binding is an LDAP server function. Anonymous binding allows a client to connect and search the directory (bind and search) without logging in because binddn and bindpasswd are not needed.

You also do not need to log in when you configure LDAP authentication using Management Console.