Groups

DS servers support several methods of grouping entries:

Dynamic groups look up their membership based on an LDAP filter.
Static groups list each member.

Static groups are easy to start, but can become large and expensive to maintain.

For static groups, you must have a mechanism to remove members whose entries are deleted, and members whose entries are modified in a way that ends their membership. DS servers use a referential integrity plugin for this.
Virtual static groups use a dynamic group-style definition, but let applications list group members as if the group were static.

The examples that follow assume ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com already exists. The ds-evaluation profile includes this entry by default. If you are using another profile, you can create the groups entry:

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=admin \
 --bindPassword password << EOF
dn: ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: organizationalunit
objectClass: top
ou: Groups
EOF

Dynamic groups

A dynamic group references members using LDAP URLs. Dynamic group entries take the groupOfURLs object class, with one or more memberURL values specifying LDAP URLs to identify group members.

Dynamic groups are a natural fit for directory servers. If you have a choice, choose dynamic groups over static groups for these reasons:

Dynamic group membership is a property of a member’s entry.

There is no need to maintain a separate entry with the list of members.
Determining dynamic group membership is as simple as applying the member URL criteria.
Dynamic groups scale to any size without performance issues.

Dynamic group entries remain small even when the group has a large number of members.

The following dynamic group includes entries matching the filter "(l=San Francisco)" (users whose location is San Francisco):

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: My Dynamic Group
objectClass: top
objectClass: groupOfURLs
ou: Groups
memberURL: ldap:///ou=People,dc=example,dc=com??sub?l=San Francisco
EOF

Group membership changes dynamically as entries change to match the memberURL values:

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(&(uid=*jensen)(isMemberOf=cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com))" \
 1.1

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

dn: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
replace: l
l: San Francisco
EOF

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(&(uid=*jensen)(isMemberOf=cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com))" \
 1.1

dn: uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

dn: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

Virtual static groups

DS servers let you create virtual static groups. Virtual static groups allow applications to see dynamic groups as if they had an enumerated list of members like a static group.

The virtual static group takes the auxiliary object class ds-virtual-static-group. Virtual static groups use the object class groupOfNames, or groupOfUniqueNames. Instead of member or uniqueMember attributes, they have ds-target-group-dn attributes pointing to other groups.

Generating the list of members can be resource-intensive for large groups. By default, you cannot retrieve the list of members. If you have an application that must read the list of members, change the configuration of Virtual Static member or Virtual Static uniqueMember to set allow-retrieving-membership:true:

$ dsconfig \
 set-virtual-attribute-prop \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN uid=admin \
 --bindPassword password \
 --name "Virtual Static member" \
 --set allow-retrieving-membership:true \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --no-prompt

The following example creates a virtual static group, and reads the group entry with all members:

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: cn=Virtual Static,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Virtual Static
objectclass: top
objectclass: groupOfNames
objectclass: ds-virtual-static-group
ds-target-group-dn: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
EOF

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(cn=Virtual Static)"

dn: cn=Virtual Static,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: ds-virtual-static-group
cn: Virtual Static
ds-target-group-dn: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=abergin,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=aknutson,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=awalker,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=aworrell,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bplante,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=btalbot,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=cwallace,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=dakers,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=dthorud,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=ewalker,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=gfarmer,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jbourke,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jcampaig,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jmuffly,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jreuter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jwalker,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=kcarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=kschmith,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mjablons,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mlangdon,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mschneid,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mtalbot,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mtyler,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mwhite,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=pshelton,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=smason,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tlabonte,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tschmith,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

Static groups

A static group entry enumerates the entries in the group. Static group entries grow as their membership increases.

Large static groups are a performance bottleneck. If you have a choice, choose dynamic groups over static groups for these reasons:

Static group membership is defined in a separate, potentially large LDAP entry.

Large static group entries are expensive to maintain, cache, and replicate.
Determining static group membership involves reading the group entry, or using virtual membership attributes.
Static group performance tends to decrease with size.

Reading and updating the group entry becomes more expensive as group size grows.

When working with static groups, also read Verify membership and Referential integrity.

If you have a deployment with large static groups that are updated regularly, use an entry cache. For details, see Cache for large groups.

Static group entries are based on one of the following standard object classes:

groupOfNames: The groupOfNames object class requires at least one member attribute.

Each value is the distinguished name of an entry.
groupOfEntries: The groupOfEntries object class requires zero or more member attributes.
groupOfUniqueNames: The groupOfUniqueNames object class has at least one uniqueMember attribute.

Each value follows Name and Optional UID syntax. Name and Optional UID syntax values are a DN, optionally followed by \#BitString. The BitString, such as '0101111101’B, serves to distinguish the entry from another entry with the same DN, which can occur when the original entry was deleted and a new entry was created with the same DN.

Like other LDAP attributes, each group member attribute value is unique. LDAP does not allow duplicate values for the same attribute on the same entry.

When creating a group entry, use groupOfNames or groupOfEntries where possible.

To create a static group, add a group entry such as the following to the directory:

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: My Static Group
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
ou: Groups
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
EOF

To change group membership, modify the values of the membership attribute:

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: member
member: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
EOF

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(cn=My Static Group)"

dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
cn: My Static Group
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
ou: Groups

RFC 4519 says a groupOfNames entry must have at least one member. Although DS servers allow you to create a groupOfNames without members, strictly speaking, that behavior is not standard. Alternatively, you can use the groupOfEntries object class as shown in the following example:

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Initially Empty Static Group
objectClass: groupOfEntries
objectClass: top
ou: Groups
EOF

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: member
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
EOF

Nested groups

DS servers let you nest groups. The following example shows a group of groups of managers and administrators:

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: The Big Shots
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
ou: Groups
member: cn=Accounting Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: cn=HR Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: cn=PD Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: cn=QA Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
EOF

Although not shown in the example above, DS servers let you nest groups within nested groups.

DS servers let you create dynamic groups of groups. The following example shows a group of other groups. The members of this group are themselves groups, not users:

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery << EOF
dn: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Group of Groups
objectClass: top
objectClass: groupOfURLs
ou: Groups
memberURL: ldap:///ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com??sub?ou=Groups
EOF

Use the isMemberOf attribute to determine what groups a member belongs to, as described in Verify membership. The following example requests the groups that Kirsten Vaughan belongs to:

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(uid=kvaughan)" \
 isMemberOf

dn: uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=HR Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

Notice that Kirsten is a member of The Big Shots group.

Notice also that Kirsten does not belong to the Group of Groups. The members of that group are groups, not users. The following example requests the groups that the directory administrators group belongs to:

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(cn=Directory Administrators)" \
 isMemberOf

dn: cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

The following example shows which groups each group belong to. The search is unindexed, and so is performed here with directory administrator credentials:

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=admin \
 --bindPassword password \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(ou=Groups)" \
 isMemberOf

dn: ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=Accounting Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=HR Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=PD Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=QA Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

Notice that the group of groups is not a member of itself.

Verify membership

For a dynamic group, you can check membership directly on the candidate member’s entry using the same search criteria as the dynamic group’s member URL.

DS servers also let you verify which groups a user belongs to by requesting the virtual isMemberOf attribute. This is more efficient than reading a large static group to determine whether a candidate belongs to the group:

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(uid=bjensen)" \
 isMemberOf

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Virtual Static,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Carpoolers,ou=Self Service,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

You must request isMemberOf explicitly.

Referential integrity

When you delete or rename an entry that belongs to static groups, that entry’s DN must be removed or changed in each group it belongs to. You can configure the server to resolve membership changes by enabling referential integrity.

Referential integrity functionality is implemented as a plugin. The referential integrity plugin is disabled by default. To enable the plugin, use the dsconfig command:

$ dsconfig \
 set-plugin-prop \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN uid=admin \
 --bindPassword password \
 --plugin-name "Referential Integrity" \
 --set enabled:true \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --no-prompt

With the plugin enabled, referential integrity resolves group membership automatically:

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(cn=My Static Group)"

dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
cn: My Static Group
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
ou: Groups

$ ldapdelete \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname localhost \
 --port 1636 \
 --useSsl \
 --usePkcs12TrustStore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 --trustStorePassword:file /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(cn=My Static Group)"

dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
cn: My Static Group
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
ou: Groups

By default, the referential integrity plugin is configured to manage member and uniqueMember attributes. These attributes take values that are DNs, and are indexed for equality by default for the default backend. Before you add an additional attribute to manage, make sure that it has DN syntax and that it is indexed for equality. DS servers require indexes because an unindexed search can consume too many of the server’s resources. For instructions on indexing attributes, see Configure indexes.

Consider these settings when configuring the referential integrity plugin:

check-references:true checks that members' entries exist when added to a group.
check-references-filter-criteria lets your members' entries match an LDAP filter.

For example, check-references-filter-criteria:member:(objectclass=person) checks that members are person entries.
check-references-scope-criteria:naming-context checks that members' entries are in the same naming context (base DN).

Directory Services 7.2.5

Groups

Dynamic groups

Virtual static groups

Static groups

Nested groups

Verify membership

Referential integrity