Query LDAP Objects as a SQL Server Database in Node.js

You can use CData Connect AI to query LDAP objects through a SQL Server interface. Follow the procedure below to create a virtual database for LDAP in Connect AI and start querying using Node.js.

CData Connect AI provides a pure MySQL, cloud-to-cloud interface for LDAP, allowing you to easily query live LDAP objects in Node.js — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you query data in Node.js, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to LDAP, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return LDAP objects.

Configure LDAP Connectivity for NodeJS

Connectivity to LDAP from NodeJS is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with LDAP objects from NodeJS, we start by creating and configuring a LDAP connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "LDAP" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to LDAP.

   To establish a connection, the following properties under the Authentication section must be provided:

   • Valid User and Password credentials (e.g., Domain\BobF or cn=Bob F,ou=Employees,dc=Domain).
   • Server information, including the IP or host name of the Server, as well as the Port.

   • BaseDN: This will limit the scope of LDAP searches to the height of the distinguished name provided.

     Note: Specifying a narrow BaseDN may greatly increase performance; for example, cn=users,dc=domain will only return results contained within cn=users and its children.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add LDAP Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to LDAP objects from Node.js.

Query LDAP from Node.js

The following example shows how to define a connection and execute queries to LDAP with the SQL Server module. You will need the following information:

• server: tds.cdata.com
• port: 14333
• user: a Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
• password: the PAT for the above user
• database: The connection you configured for LDAP (LDAP1)

Connect to LDAP objects and start executing queries with the code below:

var sql = require('mssql')
var config = {
	server: 'tds.cdata.com',
	port: 14333, 
	user: '[email protected]', //update me
	password: 'CONNECT_USER_PAT', //update me	
	options: {
		encrypt: true,
		database: 'LDAP1'
	}
}

sql.connect(config, err => { 
    if(err){
        throw err ;
    }
    new sql.Request().query('SELECT * FROM User', (err, result) => {
        console.dir(result)
    })
        
});

sql.on('error', err => {
    console.log("SQL Error: " ,err);
})