Administering computers running ADAM

Applies To: Windows Server 2003 R2

Administering computers running ADAM

Directory clients locate an Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) instance using the name or Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer running ADAM and the communications port in use by the ADAM instance. In addition, in Active Directory environments, clients can locate ADAM instances through service connection points (SCPs) that are published in Active Directory. Modifying the computer name, Domain Name System (DNS) name, network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) name, or IP address of a computer on which an ADAM instance is running may affect the directory clients' ability to locate that ADAM instance.

Locating ADAM instances

For a directory-enabled application to communicate with an ADAM instance, the application must specify the NetBIOS name, DNS name, or IP address of the computer on which ADAM is running. In addition, the application must specify the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communication port being used by the ADAM instance. For example, a directory-enabled application referencing an ADAM instance running on a computer with a DNS name of ADAMSrv1.microsoft.com—with a NetBIOS name of ADAMSrv and an IP address of 192.168.0.1 and using communication port 389 for LDAP connections—can address the ADAM instance using one of the following:

• ADAMSrv1.microsoft.com:389

• ADAMSrv:389

• 192.168.0.1:389

Locating ADAM instances in Active Directory environments

When you run ADAM in an Active Directory environment, each ADAM instance creates and maintains SCP objects about itself in Active Directory. For more information, see Administering ADAM service publication.

Server object names

By default, the relative distinguished name of a server object in ADAM is servername$instancename, where servername represents the computer on which the ADAM instance is running and instancename represents the service name of the ADAM instance.

Modifying settings on a computer running ADAM

You initially specify the computer name, DNS name, NetBIOS name, and IP address when you set up the computer. You initially specify the communication port numbers used by a given ADAM instance when you install the ADAM instance.

You can change these settings on a computer running ADAM at any time. However, when you update any of these settings, you may also need to reconfigure directory-enabled applications to properly address the ADAM instance. For example, if the host name of the computer on which ADAM is running changes, your directory-enabled application may need to be updated accordingly.