Open Directory

Open Directory replaced the monolithic NetInfo database in Mac OS X version 10.5. The ni* utilities, including nireport and nidump, were replaced by dscl (page 674). The work the lookupd daemon did is now done by the DirectoryService daemon.

For information on the local system, both Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server now use a hierarchy of small *.plist XML files called nodes, which are stored in the /var/db/dslocal hierarchy. Many of these files are human readable. On Mac OS X Server, a network-wide Open Directory is based on OpenLDAP, Kerberos, and the SASL-based Password Server.