The Open Source Zone

Apache Directory Server's primary vision (others also outlined below) is to build an enterprise directory server platform (and its components) where other Internet services snap in to store their data within the directory so they may be managed using LDAP. From the image above you'll see the architecture is designed so services besides LDAP like DNS, DHCP, SLP and Kerberos will snap in. Other services like UDDI can also be implemented and snapped in. These services will use a common networking layer and each can be toggled on and off according to the needs of the environment. apseda, mina, or sedang are various frameworks used for the common network layer. These services share the common network layer and back their data within the Apache Directory Server's backing stores without any network latency or going through the LDAP line protocol. NTP btw is the only exception and it's there to remedy the need for time sync for replication and other time sensitive protocols like kerberos. Its implementation here is intended to prevent any dependency on external infrastructure.

Other aspects to Directory's vision include becoming the JNDI goto project and also becoming the one stop shop for all directory and naming concerns here at the ASF. These concerns may be outside of the scope of JNDI or may not even fall under Java.