Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) entryUUID Operational Attribute
RFC 4530

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Network Working Group                                        K. Zeilenga
Request for Comments: 4530                           OpenLDAP Foundation
Category: Standards Track                                      June 2006

              Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
                    entryUUID Operational Attribute

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).

Abstract

   This document describes the LDAP/X.500 'entryUUID' operational
   attribute and associated matching rules and syntax.  The attribute
   holds a server-assigned Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) for the
   object.  Directory clients may use this attribute to distinguish
   objects identified by a distinguished name or to locate an object
   after renaming.

Zeilenga                    Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 4530                     LDAP entryUUID                    June 2006

Table of Contents

   1. Background and Intended Use .....................................2
   2. UUID Schema Elements ............................................3
      2.1. UUID Syntax ................................................3
      2.2. 'uuidMatch' Matching Rule ..................................3
      2.3. 'uuidOrderingMatch' Matching Rule ..........................3
      2.4. 'entryUUID' Attribute ......................................4
   3. Security Considerations .........................................4
   4. IANA Considerations .............................................5
      4.1. Object Identifier Registration .............................5
      4.2. UUID Syntax Registration ...................................5
      4.3. 'uuidMatch' Descriptor Registration ........................5
      4.4. 'uuidOrderingMatch' Descriptor Registration ................5
      4.5. 'entryUUID' Descriptor Registration ........................6
   5. Acknowledgements ................................................6
   6. References ......................................................6
      6.1. Normative References .......................................6
      6.2. Informative References .....................................7

1.  Background and Intended Use

   In X.500 Directory Services [X.501], such as those accessible using
   the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) [RFC4510], an object
   is identified by its distinguished name (DN).  However, DNs are not
   stable identifiers.  That is, a new object may be identified by a DN
   that previously identified another (now renamed or deleted) object.

   A Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) is "an identifier unique
   across both space and time, with respect to the space of all UUIDs"
   [RFC4122].  UUIDs are used in a wide range of systems.

   This document describes the 'entryUUID' operational attribute, which
   holds the UUID assigned to the object by the server.  Clients may use
   this attribute to distinguish objects identified by a particular
   distinguished name or to locate a particular object after renaming.

   This document defines the UUID syntax, the 'uuidMatch' and
   'uuidOrderingMatch' matching rules, and the 'entryUUID' attribute
   type.

   Schema definitions are provided using LDAP description formats
   [RFC4512].  Definitions provided here are formatted (line wrapped)
   for readability.

Zeilenga                    Standards Track                     [Page 2]
RFC 4530                     LDAP entryUUID                    June 2006

   In this document, the key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED",
   "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY",
   and "OPTIONAL" are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14
   [RFC2119].

2.  UUID Schema Elements

2.1.  UUID Syntax

   A Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) [RFC4122] is a 16-octet (128-
   bit) value that identifies an object.  The ASN.1 [X.680] type UUID is
   defined to represent UUIDs as follows:

       UUID ::= OCTET STRING (SIZE(16))
             -- constrained to an UUID [RFC4122]

   In LDAP, UUID values are encoded using the [ASCII] character string
   representation described in [RFC4122].  For example,
   "597ae2f6-16a6-1027-98f4-d28b5365dc14".

   The following is an LDAP syntax description suitable for publication
   in subschema subentries.

       ( 1.3.6.1.1.16.1 DESC 'UUID' )

2.2.  'uuidMatch' Matching Rule

   The 'uuidMatch' matching rule compares an asserted UUID with a stored
   UUID for equality.  Its semantics are the same as the
   'octetStringMatch' [X.520][RFC4517] matching rule.  The rule differs
   from 'octetStringMatch' in that the assertion value is encoded using