When would one use Internet Directory instead of storing the information directly in an Oracle database?
Directories are designed for administering, securing and accessing data about entities, for example people, enterprise resources, or application metadata. Each entity has a corresponding entry in the directory. The entry will contain various pieces of information associated with the entry (attributes), and the entries are typically fairly small and relatively static. Typical use of a directory will involve a relatively small number of data updates, however a potentially very large number of data retrievals. On the other hand, relational database systems such as Oracle’s excel in recording, storing, securing and accessing data generated by application transactions. In many relational database deployment scenarios, for example OLTP, transactions might be recorded continuously, but retrievals done infrequently to support, for example, generation of a monthly report.
