Using Directories

A directory contains a list of people who are currently using SunForum 3D and any other directory-compatible conferencing application, and those who are logged into the directory from within their application. This makes it easy to locate and connect to other people, either by simply browsing to see who is currently listed, or by looking up a specific person by their email address.

The 2 types of directory servers you are most likely to encounter are LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) and ILS (Internet Locator Server). The following instructions apply to both type of directory servers, except where specifically noted.

In order to log on to a directory, you must specify your own details, such as name, location and email address. You will be prompted for these details the first time you run SunForum 3D. You can choose whether to list these details for access by everyone; if you do not, then only those people who know your email address will be able to call you using the directory.

How do I...

	Change my personal information?
	Log on to a directory server?
	Log off from a directory server?
	See up-to-date information in the directory list?
	Log on to a directory when SunForum 3D starts?
	Make myself invisible to other users?
	Find someone in the directory list?
	Call someone in the directory list?
	Call someone at a server using their e-mail address?
	Configure an LDAP server as a SunForum directory server?
	Access a directory server outside a firewall?

Changing personal information

To change the information that identifies your site when logging on to a directory server, select the Change My Information... command on the Call menu. This displays the "My Information" dialog. For more details of the contents of this dialog, see Setting up initial configuration.

If you change information in this dialog, the new details will be used the next time you log on to a directory server. If you are currently logged on to a directory server, your information at the server is automatically updated.

Logging on to a directory server

Log on to a directory server by selecting the Log On to Directory Server... command on the Call menu. Enter the name of the directory server you want to log on to and select OK.

When SunForum 3D has successfully logged on to the directory server, the server is automatically queried for other users also logged on to that directory. To view the directory listing, select the Directory command on the View menu. See Switching between the conference status and directory list view for more details.

Note that Sun Ray users can only log directly onto an LDAP server. ILS does not support the gatekeeper/port and alias assignments used by Sun Ray users of SunForum.

Logging off from a directory server

To log off from a directory server, select the Log Off From Directory Server command on the Call menu.

Refreshing the directory list

To view up-to-date information in the directory list, select the Refresh Directory command on the View menu.

This option can only be selected when the directory list is displayed. See Switching between the conference status and directory list view for information on viewing the directory listing.

You can also configure SunForum 3D to automatically update the directory listing at regular intervals. This is done by setting the appropriate options in the Options menu.

Logging on to a directory when SunForum 3D starts

If you want SunForum 3D to automatically log on to a directory server when it starts, select the Change My Information... command on the Call menu to display the "My information" dialog.

Select the option "At startup, log on to the directory server" and type the name of the directory server you want to log on to in the "Server Name" field.

The next time you start SunForum 3D, it will log on to the directory server you specified.

Making yourself invisible to other users

If you do not wish to be visible to other users when logging on at a directory server, select the Change My Information... command on the Call menu to display the "My Information" dialog, and select the option "Do not list my name when logged on at the directory server".

The next time you log on to a directory server, your details will not be displayed to other people logged on to the server. However, anyone who knows your e-mail address can still call you using the directory server.

If you are currently logged on and visible when you select this option, SunForum 3D automatically updates your entry at the directory server and makes you invisible.

Finding someone in the directory list

To make it easier to find a particular person in the directory list, you can display the directory list in order of E-Mail address, First Name, Last Name, or Location. Simply click on the appropriate column heading in the directory view.
An arrow symbol in the column heading indicates which column is currently being used for ordering; the arrow points up or down to indicate ascending or descending order. You can reverse the order by clicking again on the same heading.

You can also search any of these columns for a particular entry (for example if you know only the user's first name). To do this:

Click on the column heading that you want to search.

Type the search string in the "Search for:" box. SunForum 3D searches as you type, so you may only need to type the first two or three characters in order to find the entry you want.

Calling someone in the directory list

You can call a user shown in the directory list by double clicking on the user's entry in the directory view.

Note that if the "Add to address book" option in the "Place Call" dialog (accessed by selecting the "Place Call..." option in the Call menu) is selected, any users you call using the directory list will be added to the address book.

Calling someone at a server using their e-mail address

SunForum 3D allows you to call a user who is logged on to a directory server by specifying the user's e-mail address. Note that you can do this even if the user is not logged on visibly.

To call a user in this way, type the name of the directory server they are logged on to and the user's e-mail address, separated by a "/" character. For example:

namebase.corp/bob@acme.com

SunForum 3D queries the specified directory server for a user with the e-mail address you entered. If the user is logged on to the directory server, SunForum 3D will try to start a call with them.

Configuring an LDAP server as a SunForum directory server

LDAP servers from Netscape (Netscape Directory Server 4.1 and higher) and iPlanet (iPlanet Directory Server 5.0 and higher) can be used. Netscape Directory Server 4.1, since it is distributed with Solaris 8, makes it a good option.

To configure the LDAP server, the system administrator can run the sf-ldap-config script in /opt/SUNWdat/config which comes with the SUNWphone package. Or these two manual steps can be followed:

Extend the LDAP schema with a SunForum user description. At the Solaris machine running the LDAP server, logged in as root:

Copy the file dc-rtperson-schema.conf from /opt/SUNWdat/config to the LDAP server configuration directory, <NSHOME>/slapd-<serverID>/config

Add the new file to the schema configuration file, <NSHOME>/slapd-<serverID>/config/ns-schema.conf. (We recommend you take a back-up of the current schema configuration file first).

Stop and restart the LDAP server so that it loads in the new schema.

For example, assuming the Netscape installation directory, NSHOME, to be /usr/netscape/server4; and the server name, serverID, to be dirserver, issue the following commands:
cd /usr/netscape/server4/slapd-dirserver/config
cp /opt/SUNWdat/config/dc-rtperson-schema.conf .
cp ns-schema.conf ns-schema.conf.bak
echo "include /usr/netscape/server4/slapd-dirserver/config/dc-rtperson-schema.conf" >> ns-schema.conf
cd ..
./stop-slapd
./start-slapd

Add a directory branch for storing SunForum user entries. From a Netscape Console logged in as the Directory Manager:

Add a new database suffix "o=DynamicEntries". (Under Configuration, select the Database object and go to the Settings tab to edit its suffixes).

Create a new Organization object at the top level of the directory, of name "DynamicEntries" (so that it has a DN of "o=DynamicEntries").

Set the access permissions of this branch to allow all access from all users.

Accessing a directory server outside a firewall

If your computer is located inside a firewall, and you want to access an external directory server, you need to perform some additional configuration in order to do this. See Advanced Topics for information.

	Click on the column heading that you want to search.
	Type the search string in the "Search for:" box. SunForum 3D searches as you type, so you may only need to type the first two or three characters in order to find the entry you want.