Metadirectory Services Architecture

The main components of Microsoft Metadirectory Services are an administration- and application-accessible repository of information (the “Metaverse”) culled from the various directories in an organization; a set of management agents and scripts (“Meta-Engines”) that transfer information between each proprietary connected directory and the Metaverse; and a work area (the “Connector Namespace”) where information from the connected directories is first imported.

The Metaverse provides an integrated view of the multiple connected directories. Clients, such as the supplied administration client, and custom software written to take advantage of the consolidated information, such as a global “White Pages” for a company, connect to the Metaverse using the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).

Each Meta-Engine connects a single directory to the Connector Namespace and the Metaverse. Meta-Engines are composed of the following elements:

• Control scripts that manage when the management agents