Until now, we have been talking about security and optimization in this book, so why would we talk about OpenLDAP? Well, the OpenLDAP directory server will expand our horizons through its many possibilities. We can use its replication capability to centralize and consolidate different information on one server for all the others in our network. Imagine having the possibility of adding or disabling a Unix or NT account, setting access to a restricted Web server, and adding a mail address or alias, all with a single operation available as an NIS service, with the added security of SSL encryption, and the speed of object-oriented hierarchies. Another interesting use is to create an authoritative list of employees on one or more LDAP servers that can be accessible from your private network, or over the Internet.