Re: DTC competition with ISPMAN

thomas-5VVOt45T8ASrG/[email protected] wrote:

>http://www.gplhost.com/?rub=softwares&sousrub=dtc
>
>
>well, yeah, seriously nice with DTC
>ISPMAN using ldap, DTC using mysql
>
>for those who don't interested in setting up ldap server, mysql might be
>alternative choice for you. but, isn't openldap performance is faster than
>mysql ? (also, I know once openldap being setup, it is not easy to break)
>
>that's your call, mysql or ldap :)
>  
>
Thomas,

don't think of this in terms of mysql vs. ldap or solely performance.

The decision, whether to use mysql or ldap for the backend repository is 
mostly driven by functionality and your environment's demands.
MySQL is a classic RDBMS and thus very flexible when it comes to data 
handling (esp. queries) and storage of structured data. Is is quite easy 
to store arbitrary data, such as Logs, Traffic, or other transaction data.
Unfortunately, (My)SQL lacks connection to many (professional) software 
products, typically used within ISP business, since there is no open 
protocol such systems could use.

LDAP on the other hand is a *directory* service, providing fast access 
to hierarchical structured "objects", while having limitations on write 
performance and storage of arbitrary data.
Extending schemas to store "other" data can be quite painful and 
requires good knowledge of LDAP specifications.
The reason why LDAP is actually very popular, esp. with ISPs, is the 
open protocol and therefor the many systems that can connect to your 
directory. Besides that it is very easy to make it highly available by 
using replication.

Actually, neither of those alone will fit the requirements of typical 
ISPs, because you certainly need a fast directory service for all your 
mail, calendar, web, ftp, samba, ... servers, which can't be provided by 
SQL servers.
On the other hand, you need easy storage for that arbitrary data, you 
have to manage for your domains, which cries for a RDBMS.

So...
regarding ISPMan, choosing LDAP was the right choice, because it opened 
up to many other applications out there, using all those valuable 
directory data.
But with rising functionality and growing demands, it has become more 
and more painful to extend the schema and store "other" data, such as 
transactional data (logs, traffic, etc.).
We certainly can't drop LDAP, because this would mean imminent death to 
ISPMan , but to have a future with this software I believe we need both, 
LDAP *and* (My)SQL.
Maybe MySQL as the main repository, provisioning LDAP with all necessary 
entries... not clear about that yet.

Comments welcome...

Joerg