Can I create my own attributes in iDS?

Question

I know to store my photo I can use the jpegPhoto attribute, but what about if I want to store other binary objects like maybe my fingerprints, can I create my own attributes for it, and how?
Or I can't do that?

Answer 1

You can use Directory Server Console to create new attributes. After adding new attributes to your schema, you must create a new object class to contain them.
Creating object class:
1.Click Create on the Object Classes tab.
2.Enter a unique name for the object class in the Name text box.
3.Enter an object identifier for the new object class in the OID (Optional) text box.
4.Select a parent object for the object class from the Parent drop-down menu.
5.To add an attribute that must be present in entries that use the new object class,highlight the attribute in the Available Attributes list and then click the Add
button to the left of the Required Attributes box.
6.To add an attribute that may be present in entries that use the new object class,highlight the attribute in the Available Attributes list and then click the Add
button to the left of the Allowed Attributes box.
7.To remove an attribute that you previously added, highlight the attribute in the Required Attributes list or the Allowed Attributes list and then click the
corresponding Remove button.You cannot remove either allowed or required attributes that are inherited
from the parent object classes.
8.Click to OK.
To create a new attribute:
1. Display the Attributes tab.
2. Click Create.
The Create Attribute dialog box is displayed.
3. Enter a unique name for the attribute in the Attribute Name text box.
4. Enter an object identifier for the attribute in the Attribute OID (Optional) text box.
5. Select a syntax that describes the data to be held by the attribute from the Syntax drop-down menu.
6. If you want the attribute to be multi-valued,select the Multi-Valued checkbox.The Directory Server allows more than one instance of a multi-valued attribute
per entry.
7.Click OK
This is repersenting binary data.
You can represent binary data, such as a JPEG image, in LDIF using one of the following methods:
The standard LDIF notation, the lesser than (<) symbol. For example:
jpegphoto: < file:/path/to/photo
If you use this standard notation, you do not need to specify the ldapmodify -b parameter. However, you must add the following line to the beginning of your LDIF file, or your LDIF update statements:
version:1
For example, you could use the following ldapmodify command:
prompt% ldapmodify -D userDN -w user_passwd
version: 1
dn: cn=Barney Fife,ou=People,dc=siroe,dc=comchangetype: modify
add: userCertificate
userCertificate;binary:< file: BarneysCert
Using base 64 encoding. You identify base 64 encoded data by using the ::
symbol. For example:
jpegPhoto:: encoded_data
In addition to binary data, other values that must be base 64-encoded include:
Any value that begins with a semicolon (;) or a space
Any value that contains non-ASCII data, including new lines Use the ldif command-line utility with the -b parameter to convert binary data to LDIF format:
ldif -b attribute_name
where attribute_name is the name of the attribute to which you are supplying the binary data. The binary data is read from standard input and the results are written to standard output. Thus, you should use redirection operators to select input and output files.
The ldif command-line utility will take any input and format it with the correct line continuation and appropriate attribute information. The ldif utility also assesses whether the input requires base 64 encoding. For example:
ldif -b jpegPhoto < mark.jpg > out.ldif
This example takes a binary file containing a JPEG-formatted image and converts it into LDIF format for the attribute named jpegPhoto. The output is saved to
out.ldif.
The -b option specifies that the ldif utility should interpret the entire input as a single binary value. If -b is not present, each line is considered to be a separate input value.