How to Configure External LDAP Settings

You configure the following External LDAP Settings

LDAP URL and whether to use SSL. Two server types can be configured, LDAP or Active Directory. For LDAP, the port is 389. For Active Directory, the port is 3268. If you use SSL, the port is 636. You can configure multiple external LDAP hosts, so users can access GAL from the next available configured server when a GAL server is down.

LDAP filter. The filter defines the search rules used for directory searches. The parameters in a filter you construct determine the thoroughness of a search. A search filter must be specified.

The following is an example of the filter string. Syntax "%s" represents the string the user types.

(&(|( cn=*%s*)( sn=*%s*)( gn=*%s*)( mail=*%s*)( zimbraMailDeliveryAddress=*%s*)
( zimbraMailAlias=*%s*)( zimbraMailAddress=*%s*))
(|( objectclass=zimbraAccount)( objectclass=zimbraDistributionList)))

This filter example, combines the basic search filters using the Boolean operation OR to first search the various attributes ( cn, gn, etc.), and then verifies that the entry matched is either a Zimbra account or distribution list.

Filter	Matches
cn=%s	Entries with a common name approximately equal to user's input
sn=%s	Entries with a surname approximately equal to user's input
gn=%s	Entries with a given name approximately equal to user's input
mail=%s	Entries with an email address.
zimbraMailDeliveryAddress=%s	Entries with a Zimbra email address
zimbraMailAlias=%s	Entry is a Zimbra alias
zimbraMailAddress=%s	Entries with a Zimbra distribution list address
objectclass=zimbraAccount	The matches found exist as a Zimbra account.
objectclass=zimbraDistributionList	The matches found exist as a Zimbra distribution list.

Autocomplete filter. To enable the ability to let users use the Autocomplete from GAL feature, the autocomplete filter must be configured. For LDAP, the default GAL filter setting is (|( cn=%s*)( sn=%s*)( gn=%s*)( mail=%s*)). For AD, adAutoComplete is the default filter.

LDAP search base. To search within a specific part of your directory, enter a search base. For example, ( dc=server, dc=com).
Use DN Password to bind to external server. If the filter you entered cannot be run using an anonymous bind, then enter the DN/password of a service account on the external LDAP that has been granted access to the attributes required to do the search.