Best practice if using multiple OU definitions for LDAP

[danrad]

Hi SNow Community

Can you give me some advice on what is the best way to handle data sources if using multiple OU definitions for LDAP setup.

Can I specify the same Import set table for different OUs, as they will use the same transform map? I'm asking, because I'm a little bit confused, that if you set up a new OU definition you need to create a new data source, you cannot choose an existing one. Now I'm wondering if I just can give them differen names to better identify them, but the same import set table name so each OU definition would populate the same import set table?

Thanks for any advices.

Regards

Daniel

[peterwestergaar]

Yes, I'm with Karl.  

A transform map is just that... it's a transformational map that converts one set of data fields (the source) into another set (the destination), letting you use a script to massage or do anything you need to do to the source data, so that it correctly feeds into the other data set.

The "advantages" to using the same map for all of your sources are:

• it saves you, what, no more than an hour of time to build the other transform maps,
• if your LDAP source changes structure,   such that the data of ALL your LDAP source OUs change in the same way at the same time, you can then change all the source datasets and only change the map once

But unless you have DOZENS or HUNDREDS of LDAP sources (I'm guessing you have maybe 3? 4?)   it's far safer to just have one per mapping.   That way, if one LDAP OU changes structure, you can tweak that single transform without affecting any of your other imports.  

So, yes, you CAN do it.   And if it was the sort of thing where you had hundreds of identically-structured but different data sources, you might want to do it that way to standardize them.   But for three or four LDAP sources?   Just use a unique mapping for each.  

[danrad]

Thank you both for your inputs on this, helps me a lot to make the right decission!

Best regards

Daniel

[jasonmarley]

Hi,

I've created multiple OU definitions and associated data sources and transform maps, which, for the reasons stated by the other people in this thread, is absolutely the right way to go.

What I'm unsure of is whether the listener process takes those multiple OU definitions and transform maps into consideration. I believe that it imports into one import set table and then ignores the entries that don't match the OU definitions. But does it actually work when you have multiple OU definitions?

I could try it out, but I was looking for an answer in the docs or the community - and I can't find anything!

If anyone can help, please let me know, otherwise I'll start a new post.

Thanks,

Jason