How To: Connect to an LDAP Server

This topic provides an example of how to connect to an LDAP server.

To use the example code

1. Run the console application, using the following syntax.

ConnectLDAP.exe ldapServer user pwd domain targetOU

1. Specify the arguments, listed in the following table, when calling the console application.

• ldapServer
  The server name. For example: myDC1.testDom.fabrikam.com

• user
  The user name. For example: user1

• pwd
  The password. For example: secret@~1

• domain
  The Active Directory Domain Services domain. For example: testDom

• targetOU
  The target organizational unit (OU). For example: OU=samples,DC=testDom,DC=fabrikam,DC=com

Example

This example uses the LdapConnection component to connect to an LDAP server.

using System;
using System.Net;
using System.DirectoryServices;
using System.DirectoryServices.Protocols;
using System.Security.Permissions;

namespace ConnectLDAP
{
    [DirectoryServicesPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, Unrestricted = true)]

    public class LDAPConnect 
    {
        // static variables used throughout the example
        static LdapConnection ldapConnection;
        static string  ldapServer;
        static NetworkCredential credential;
        static string targetOU; // dn of an OU. eg: "OU=sample,DC=fabrikam,DC=com"

        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            try
            {
                GetParameters(args);  // Get the Command Line parameters

                // Create the new LDAP connection
                ldapConnection = new LdapConnection(ldapServer);        
                ldapConnection.Credential = credential;
                Console.WriteLine("LdapConnection is created successfully.");
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("\r\nUnexpected exception occurred:\r\n\t" + e.GetType() + ":" + e.Message);
            }
        }

        static void GetParameters(string[] args)
        {
            // When running: ConnectLDAP.exe <ldapServer> <user> <pwd> <domain> <targetOU>

            if (args.Length != 5)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Usage: ConnectLDAP.exe <ldapServer> <user> <pwd> <domain> <targetOU>");
                Environment.Exit(-1);// return an error code of -1
            }

            // test arguments to ensure they are valid and secure

            // initialize variables
            ldapServer = args[0];
            credential = new NetworkCredential(args[1], args[2], args[3]);
            targetOU = args[4];
        }
    }
}

Compiling the Code

This example requires references to the System, System.Net, System.DirectoryServices, System.Security.Permissions, and System.DirectoryServices.Protocols namespaces.

Security

In the example, arguments are passed in. Test arguments for validity and security before using them.

See Also

Other Resources

LDAP Send Request Technology Sample

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