How to Bundle ADAM with Your Application

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Active Directory provides scalable LDAP directory services both for directory-enabled applications and for management of Microsoft® Windows® network infrastructure. Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) is a new mode of Active Directory that provides LDAP directory services specifically for directory-enabled applications — without the infrastructure requirements of Active Directory. As a result, ADAM does not require the use of domains or domain controllers. You can install ADAM on Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional and on member servers and domain controllers running Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Standard Edition; Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. ADAM runs as a non–operating system service, and it can be installed, stopped, and restarted without requiring a reboot. You can also install multiple ADAM instances on a single computer, with each ADAM instance possessing its own independently managed schema. Because ADAM is built on the same core technology as Active Directory, directory-enabled application developers can use familiar techniques for utilizing ADAM, while reducing the infrastructure dependencies of their applications.

ADAM is an ideal choice for providing dedicated LDAP directory services to a directory-enabled application. By bundling ADAM with your directory-enabled application, you do not need to be concerned about the availability of a directory service before the installation of the application. Instead, you can include ADAM as a part of your application’s installation process to ensure that the application has access to a directory service immediately upon installation.

ADAM is distributed as a set of files that are packaged into a single self-executing IExpress package. You can perform a stand-alone installation of ADAM by running the ADAM Setup executable directly in Windows. You can also incorporate ADAM Setup into the Setup of your application. You can do this by including the ADAM IExpress package in your application’s Setup and starting ADAM Setup from within your application’s Setup.

Creating and installing a directory-enabled application package that includes a bundled copy of ADAM Setup is a three-phase process consisting of the following tasks:

  1. Creating the Windows Installer package to install the directory-enabled application.

  2. Modifying the install process of the directory-enabled application to optionally install ADAM.

  3. Running the directory-enabled application setup to install both the directory-enabled application and ADAM (if necessary), and to create an ADAM instance.