Patent ID: 7562075

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for configuring a proxy directory server proxying for one or more distributed directory servers, said method comprising: storing connection information by a computer on said proxy directory server; connecting said proxy directory server by said computer with one or more of said distributed directory servers using said connection information; for successfully connected ones of said distributed directory servers, executing queries from said proxy directory server by said computer to extract structured data to produce a topology of said connected distributed directory servers on said proxy directory server; reconstructing said topology by said computer when changes occur in said extracted structured data as a result of said queries; dynamically updating by said computer, from said proxy directory server to said distributed directory servers, distributed directory server topology on the basis of said reconstructing said topology; modifying said connection information by said computer on said proxy directory server; and re-executing said queries by said computer from said proxy directory server to extract structured data corresponding to a reconfigured distributed directory server topology, wherein said connection information includes a Universal Resource Locator, a distinguished name and a password, wherein said structured data for each said connected distributed directory server includes a mapping of naming contexts to a respective said distributed directory server, and information on which said distributed directory servers master a replicated context, wherein said queries include a further separate query for each value of a naming context attribute previously returned by the respective distributed directory server; wherein said occurrence of changes in results is determined by periodically repeating a query, wherein said occurrence of changes in results is determined by notification from said distributed directory servers, wherein said reconfiguration is achieved by a directory update operations configured to modify said structured data stored in said distributed directory servers, wherein said updated structured data represents a mapping of naming contexts to a respective said distributed directory server, and which said distributed directory servers master a replicated context, and wherein said reconfiguration is achieved by at least one of adding new servers to, and removing existing servers from the distributed directory servers.