Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a client/server based protocol used to access and manage directory information. It helps locating files and devices in a network connected to the Internet or corporate intranet.
AstroContacts, a centralized contact management tool from 42Gears allows IT admins to sync contacts directly from an LDAP account. It helps IT admins to import or automatically sync LDAP contacts to the AstroContacts Web Console and makes it easy for admin to manage these contacts.
NOTE: For LDAP contacts sync to work AstroContacts Web Console should be able to reach the LDAP server over the internet.
To directly sync contacts from LDAP account, following two processes have to be executed.
– Setup LDAP configuration in AstroContacts Web Console
– Setup LDAP configuration in AstroContacts Web Console
Steps to setup LDAP configuration in AstroContacts Web Console
1. Login into AstroContacts Web Console.
2. Click Account Settings >LDAP Contact.
3. Configure the LDAP settings:
– Host – IP address of the LDAP server
– Port – Port number of the server
– Base DN – Inner path to fetch LDAP contacts
– Security Level – Select an option to authenticate LDAP account:
– Authentication – Configure credentials to access LDAP account
– Anonymous – Access LDAP account without credentials
– Auto Sync Enable – Turn-On this option to periodically copy all the existing contact modifications from LDAP server to the AstroContacts Web Console every 6 hours.
– Auto Add LDAP Contacts – Once enabled, the newly added contacts will be automatically synced to the AstroContacts Web Console depending upon the number of licenses available for the account.
Example: If an enterprise has LDAP account with 1000 contacts and 100 AstroContacts licenses, then you can sync only 100 contacts from the LDAP server.
NOTE: This feature will work only when LDAP Attribute is mapped with Astro Attribute and has imported at least one contact.
4. Click Test Connection to confirm the authentication.
5. Click Save to save the LDAP configuration.
Steps to import contacts in AstroContacts Web Console from LDAP Account
1. Navigate to AstroContacts Web Console.
2. Click Contacts >Import > LDAP CONTACTS.
3. Click Yes to accept for importing.
4. In LDAP Contacts prompt, select an option for Unique ID from the drop-down menu(This is the unique identifier for AstroContacts which will be considered while importing contacts from LDAP server).
5. Select an option from LDAP Attribute drop-down to map with Astro Attribute.
6. Select an option from Astro Attribute drop-down menu.
NOTE: Attributes are objects which hold values like first name, last name etc. and It is mandatory to map Astro Attribute First Name with LDAP Attribute.
7. Click Show/Hide Not Imported LDAP Attribute to view LDAP attributes that are not mapped with Astro Attributes.
Once done, the LDAP contacts will be synced to AstroContacts Web Console and these contacts will be listed as contact in Contacts section and IT pros will be able to access and manage LDAP contacts like any other contacts using the AstroContacts Web Console which will automatically reflect on logged in devices.