NDS Object Import/Export v2.7: A Batch Alternative to NWAdmin
Articles and Tips: tip
01 Aug 1998
Many network administrators find themselves spending a considerable amount of time in the NWAdmin utility creating, modifying, and deleting Novell Directory Services (NDS) objects. The NDS Object Import/Export utility is an alternative solution from Novell Consulting that allows you to batch process and mass modify NDS objects.
Object Export reads objects, attributes, and values from the NDS tree in an ordered manner, according to a set of rules, and exports the information to the screen or to a standard text file. Object Import takes a standard text file (created by Object Export or any text editor) and uses it to create, modify, or delete objects and attributes in an NDS tree. Converting NDS data to a text file format allows administrators to deal with objects in a "batch" mode.
The power of this utility can be seen in situations where the NDS tree is large and detailed. For example, suppose an administrator wants to create, modify, or delete 2000 users. That would normally take a lot of work in the NWAdmin utility. With Object Import/Export, the administrator can export the information to a text file, run batch processes to modify the text, and then import the changes to the NDS tree. Object Import/Export does all this while maintaining object dependencies and relationships to other objects.
Users of NDS Object Import/Export should be familiar with NetWare 4.x installation and operation, and have a knowledge of NDS concepts such as objects, classes, attributes, syntaxes, and schema. When bulk loading objects, it is also helpful to know Perl scripting, C++, or other methods of creating and batch-modifying text files while pulling data from a database.
Notable Features
NDS Object Import/Export creates, updates, or deletes any NDS object, including non-standard NDS objects created by third-party NetWare-aware applications. It exports data and then imports it in an ordered, hierarchical manner according to a user-definable rule file. It can also generate an optional log file detailing its operations.
You can use filters to extract only certain objects from the NDS tree. You can also create passwords for user objects and assign file system rights (trustees) for any object.
NDS Object Import/Export works on any Windows 95 or Windows NT workstation connected to a NetWare 4.x server. The workstation must have at least 520KB of free conventional memory. The user must have Create, Update, and Delete rights to use Object Import, and Scan rights for Object Export.
For more information on Novell Consulting's NDS Object Import/Export utility, visit their Web site at http://www.novell.com/programs/ncs/or send e-mail to novell_consulting@novell.com.
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
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