Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell 10.0.0

Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell

Production LDAP connection adapter for the Bitai LDAP Helper ecosystem, providing cross-platform connectivity to Active Directory, OpenLDAP, and RFC-compliant Directory Services via Novell.Directory.Ldap.NETStandard.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Solution Architecture
• Key Features
• Class Architecture & Native Mapping
• Quick Start
• Detailed Usage Scenarios
  • Scenario 1: Production Searcher Setup
  • Scenario 2: Secure SSL/LDAPS Domain Authentication
  • Scenario 3: Directory Entry Management
• Configuration & Security Guidance
  • Connection Parameters
  • SSL/TLS & Certificate Validation
• Build, Test & Package
• Troubleshooting Matrix
• License

Overview

Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell bridges the core services of Bitai.LDAPHelper with physical LDAP directory servers.

By wrapping the open-source, fully cross-platform Novell.Directory.Ldap.NETStandard library (version 4.0.0), this adapter enables high-performance LDAP queries, user authentication, password updates, and Active Directory object management on Windows, Linux, and macOS without relying on Windows-only system libraries (System.DirectoryServices).

Target Framework & Specifications

• Target Framework: .NET 10.0 (net10.0)
• Nullable Context: Enabled (<Nullable>enable</Nullable>)
• Implicit Usings: Enabled (<ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>)
• Underlying Driver: Novell.Directory.Ldap.NETStandard v4.0.0
• Project Reference: Depends on Bitai.LDAPHelper

Solution Architecture

Core services in Bitai.LDAPHelper (such as Searcher, Authenticator, and AccountManager) depend on adapter interfaces (ILdapConnectionFactoryAdapter, ILdapConnectionAdapter, ILdapEntryAdapter) rather than specific LDAP drivers. Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell implements these interfaces for live production environments.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      Consumer Application                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
                                ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                       Bitai.LDAPHelper                          │
│     (Authenticator, Searcher, AccountManager, Validator)        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
                   ILdapConnectionFactoryAdapter
                   ILdapConnectionAdapter
                                │
                                ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell               │
│               (Novell Production Adapter Layer)                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
                                ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│               Novell.Directory.Ldap.NETStandard                 │
│               (Cross-Platform Network Protocol)                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
                 LDAP (389) / LDAPS (636) Protocol
                                │
                                ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│        Active Directory / OpenLDAP / Directory Server           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Repository Projects Overview

Key Features

1. Production LDAP & LDAPS Protocol Support
   • Connects to Active Directory and LDAP servers over standard unencrypted TCP (port 389) or secure SSL/TLS sockets (port 636).
2. Automated Connection Lifecycle (NovellLdapConnectionFactoryAdapter)
   • Instantiates, configures timeouts, enables SSL, establishes socket connections (ConnectAsync), and authenticates (BindAsync) automatically.
3. Asynchronous Search Streaming (SearchAsync)
   • Translates domain-level ISearchLimits (Base DN, Search Scope, Timeouts, Max Results) into Novell LdapSearchConstraints.
   • Streams LDAP search results asynchronously via ILdapSearchQueueAdapter.
4. Complete Directory Object Lifecycle
   • Supports creating (AddEntryAsync), updating (ModifyEntryAsync), and removing (DeleteEntryAsync) entries in directory trees.
5. Multi-Type Attribute Translation
   • Native support for reading and writing single string values, multi-valued string arrays, and raw binary byte arrays (e.g. objectSid, objectGUID, userCertificate).
6. Certificate Validation Customization
   • Provides ServerCertificateValidationByPass() for development, staging, or internal enterprise environments using self-signed PKI certificates.

Class Architecture & Native Mapping

The adapter layer translates between Novell native types and Bitai.LDAPHelper abstractions:

Quick Start

Installation

Add Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell to your .NET application:

dotnet add package Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell

Or reference it in your .csproj:

<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="..\..\adapters\Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell\Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

Basic Minimal Example

using Bitai.LDAPHelper;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.DTO;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell;

// 1. Instanciate the Novell connection factory
var connectionFactory = new NovellLdapConnectionFactoryAdapter();

// 2. Configure connection settings and service account credentials
var connectionInfo = new ConnectionInfo("dc01.corp.contoso.com", 389, useSSL: false, connectionTimeout: 15);
var credential = new LDAPDomainAccountCredential("CONTOSO", "svc_ldap", "P@ssword123!");
var searchLimits = new SearchLimits("DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com");

// 3. Inject factory into core LDAPHelper Searcher service
var searcher = new Searcher(connectionInfo, searchLimits, credential, connectionFactory);

// 4. Query an entry from Active Directory
var user = await searcher.GetLdapEntryBySamAccountNameAsync("johndoe");

if (user != null)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"DN: {user.DistinguishedName}");
    Console.WriteLine($"Mail: {user.Mail}");
}

Detailed Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Production Searcher Setup

Searching for active directory user accounts or groups using standard LDAP filters:

using Bitai.LDAPHelper;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.DTO;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell;

public class DirectorySearchService
{
    private readonly Searcher _searcher;

    public DirectorySearchService()
    {
        var factory = new NovellLdapConnectionFactoryAdapter();
        
        var connectionInfo = new ConnectionInfo(
            server: "ldap.example.com",
            serverPort: 389,
            useSSL: false,
            connectionTimeout: 10
        );

        var searchLimits = new SearchLimits(
            baseDN: "OU=Employees,DC=example,DC=com",
            maxSearchResults: 500,
            maxSearchTimeout: 30,
            ldapSearchScope: LdapSearchScope.ScopeSub
        );

        var credential = new LDAPDomainAccountCredential("EXAMPLE", "ldap_reader", "SecurePassword!");

        _searcher = new Searcher(connectionInfo, searchLimits, credential, factory);
    }

    public async Task<LDAPEntry?> FindUserByEmailAsync(string email)
    {
        var filter = $"(&(objectClass=user)(mail={email}))";
        var results = await _searcher.GetLdapEntriesAsync(filter);
        return results?.FirstOrDefault();
    }
}

Scenario 2: Secure SSL/LDAPS Domain Authentication

Authenticating user credentials over encrypted LDAPS (Port 636) using Authenticator:

using Bitai.LDAPHelper;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.DTO;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell;

public class AuthenticationService
{
    private readonly Authenticator _authenticator;

    public AuthenticationService()
    {
        var factory = new NovellLdapConnectionFactoryAdapter();

        // Configure LDAPS over SSL on Port 636
        var connectionInfo = new ConnectionInfo(
            server: "dc01.domain.com",
            serverPort: 636,
            useSSL: true,
            connectionTimeout: 15
        );

        var searchLimits = new SearchLimits("DC=domain,DC=com");
        var adminCreds = new LDAPDomainAccountCredential("DOMAIN", "svc_auth", "AdminSecret!");

        _authenticator = new Authenticator(connectionInfo, searchLimits, adminCreds, factory);
    }

    public async Task<bool> ValidateUserCredentialsAsync(string username, string password)
    {
        var userCreds = new LDAPDomainAccountCredential("DOMAIN", username, password);
        var result = await _authenticator.AuthenticateDomainAccountAsync(userCreds);

        return result.IsAuthenticated;
    }
}

Scenario 3: Directory Entry Management

Adding, modifying, or deleting entries in Active Directory using AccountManager:

using Bitai.LDAPHelper;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.DTO;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters;
using Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell;

public class DirectoryManagerService
{
    private readonly AccountManager _accountManager;

    public DirectoryManagerService()
    {
        var factory = new NovellLdapConnectionFactoryAdapter();
        
        var connectionInfo = new ConnectionInfo("dc01.company.local", 389, false, 15);
        var searchLimits = new SearchLimits("DC=company,DC=local");
        var adminCreds = new LDAPDomainAccountCredential("COMPANY", "DomainAdmin", "SuperSecure123!");

        _accountManager = new AccountManager(connectionInfo, searchLimits, adminCreds, factory);
    }

    public async Task UpdatePhoneNumberAsync(string userDn, string newPhone)
    {
        // 1. Create connection to modify entry
        var adapter = new NovellLdapConnectionFactoryAdapter();
        using var connection = await adapter.CreateConnectionAsync(
            new ConnectionInfo("dc01.company.local", 389, false, 15),
            "DomainAdmin",
            "SuperSecure123!"
        );

        // 2. Prepare modification
        var mod = connection.CreateModification(LdapModificationType.Replace, "telephoneNumber", newPhone);

        // 3. Apply modification
        await connection.ModifyEntryAsync(userDn, new[] { mod });
    }
}

Configuration & Security Guidance

Connection Parameters

NovellLdapConnectionFactoryAdapter maps IConnectionInfo properties as follows:

SSL/TLS & Certificate Validation

When UseSSL is enabled, NovellLdapConnectionFactoryAdapter sets SecureSocketLayer = true and invokes ServerCertificateValidationByPass().

Build, Test & Package

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 10.0 or newer installed.
• Network access to a test LDAP/Active Directory server (or execute repository tests using LdapHelperMock).

Building the Project

dotnet build adapters/Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell/Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell.csproj -c Release

Running Tests

dotnet test tests/Bitai.LDAPHelper.Tests/Bitai.LDAPHelper.Tests.csproj -c Release

Packing the NuGet Package

dotnet pack adapters/Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell/Bitai.LDAPHelper.LdapAdapters.Novell.csproj -c Release -o ./artifacts

Troubleshooting Matrix

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.md for details.

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