The
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (
LDAP; ) is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard
application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an
Internet Protocol (IP) network.
Directory services play an important role in developing
intranet and Internet applications by allowing the sharing of information about users, systems, networks, services, and applications throughout the network. As examples, directory services may provide any organized set of records, often with a hierarchical structure, such as a corporate
email directory. Similarly, a
telephone directory is a list of subscribers with an address and a phone number.