ldap schema in development should it be the same as productions

Question

I been using LDAP for alot of years now and most of the firms I worked for LDAP schema in development looks just like the schema in production, QA(Staging).

etc: suffix "dc=firm,dc=com"

I just started working at a new firm a few months ago and the SA is telling me I am doing it wrong that in development the suffix should be suffix "dc=firm,dc=dev".

I feel that this is going to make a lot of issues don't the road with programming and moving data for testing etc etc. I would like to get some views on this. I see this a data and it should look like production, qa etc etc

Answer 1

What the "suffix" (actually the "naming context") is should not matter. Any code should be completely independent of the contents of the directory, where the directory is located (from a networking point of view, what software the server runs, what version that software is, etc. Any code that "knows" these sorts of things is poor code, is not robust, is fragile, and is prone to failures.

Answer 2

I am not sure if there is a wrong or right way. Both of them have their advantages, both of them their weaknesses.

The company I am working for also modifies LDAP schema files from time to time, but not as regularly as in your case. We are also having the same dc for both the devel and production environment. At our company, there is no chance that we might mix up something since we are only changing a schema from time to time.

Your new company might have different views than you, and they even might have some sort of policy for devel stuff. My advice would be to write down a little concept where you compare both ways. If you still think that your "solution" is the better one and more effective, you should be defending it in front of your supervisor. Maybe you can convince them to switch to a new policy. But do not forget to respect their current policy and do not be too offensive. Keep in mind that you might be walking into something that has not been changing for years, and some people are afraid of new things (sadly especially in the IT sector).

Writing a concept is by the way my most successful method to convince customers or even people at my company. They see that you have done some research and that you have arguments. When they are valid, you will walk the successful path!