The Importance of the Domino Directory

As stated earlier, the Domino Directory is the heart and soul of a Domino server. The Domino Directory really serves two main purposes for a Domino server. First, it acts as a simple directory service by providing a central repository for all user, group, and server documents in a Domino domain. Second, and more importantly, it provides a central location to manage a Domino server and the server's various services, such as replication, mail routing, Internet access, automated tasks, and a multitude of other information and processes.

When you set up your Domino server in Chapter 33, "Initial Planning and Installation," one of the operations that the installation process performed was the creation of the Domino Directory database (NAMES.NSF) in the Data Directory of your Domino server. When the Domino Directory was created, a Server document was also created in it, and the basic information you provided about your server was placed into this document.