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Developer Guide for LDAP Web API & BizTalk LDAP Adapter

Unlock seamless directory integration and management with the Nodinite LDAP Adapter for Microsoft BizTalk Server and the LDAP Web API. This guide empowers developers and integration experts to build, test, and optimize solutions for both on-premise and cloud environments.

✅ Integrate with both BizTalk and modern web applications effortlessly
✅ Accelerate development with shared, ready-to-use examples
✅ Support on-premise and Azure App Service deployments
✅ Rely on proven, enterprise-grade directory integration

You will find:

  • Clear, actionable examples for both Nodinite LDAP Adapter for Microsoft BizTalk Server and Nodinite LDAP Web API
  • Guidance for on-premise and Azure App Service Environment (ASE) scenarios
  • Unified documentation—test and run examples as best fit your runtime options

Nodinite delivers robust, flexible LDAP integration for your enterprise, whether you use BizTalk, IIS, or Azure. All examples in this guide apply to both products, so you can develop and validate your solutions with confidence.

Features & Capabilities

The LDAP Web API and BizTalk LDAP Adapter provide comprehensive operations for managing directory services:

Entity Management Operations

User Management - 16 operations
Complete lifecycle management for user accounts including creation, updates, group membership, enable/disable, and advanced queries by date. Supports password management and account control flags.

Group Management - 9 operations
Full CRUD operations for security and distribution groups. Add/remove members, query membership, move and rename groups across organizational units.

OU Management - 6 operations
Organizational Unit hierarchy management with create, update, delete, move, and rename capabilities. Build and reorganize directory structures programmatically.

Schema Management - 3 operations
Discover available LDAP classes and their mandatory/optional attributes. Essential for understanding schema requirements before creating or updating objects.

AD Management - 3 operations
Active Directory infrastructure queries including domain controllers, forest domains, and global catalog servers for multi-domain environments.

Message Schema

Request Schema
Understand the XML/JSON request message structure including batches, entity records, search criteria (With), operations, properties, and transaction handling.

Response Schema
Learn the response message format with operation status, search results, error handling, execution metrics, and traceability information.

Supported Entities

Entity Type Description Operations Count
User User accounts and security principals 16
Group Security and distribution groups 9
OrganizationalUnit Directory hierarchy containers 6
Schema LDAP schema introspection 3
AD Active Directory infrastructure 3

Common Operations

Create Operations

  • Create User: Provision new user accounts with passwords and properties
  • Create Group: Establish new security or distribution groups
  • Create OU: Build organizational unit hierarchies

Query Operations

Membership Operations

Account Management

Structural Operations

Getting Started

1. Understand the Message Structure

Start by reviewing the Request Schema to understand how to construct LDAP operations with batches, entity records, search criteria, and operation parameters.

2. Review Response Handling

Explore the Response Schema to learn how to parse operation results, handle errors, and interpret search results with properties.

3. Choose Your Entity Operations

Select the appropriate management guide based on your integration needs:

4. Build Your Solution

Use the XML examples in each operation guide as templates. All examples work with both the BizTalk LDAP Adapter and LDAP Web API.

Key Features

Batch Processing

Execute multiple operations in a single request message. Control transaction behavior with transactionScopeOption and error handling with continueOnError.

Flexible Search Criteria

Use the With record to define:

  • CN, OU, DC: Distinguished name components
  • searchScope: Base, OneLevel, or Subtree
  • searchFilter: LDAP filter syntax for precise queries
  • returnProperties: Limit returned attributes for performance
  • expectedMatchCount: Validate operation expectations

Transaction Support

Operations support MSDTC transactions with configurable scope options (Required, RequiresNew, Suppress) and timeout settings.

Error Handling

Comprehensive error information including:

  • ReturnStatus: NotExecuted, Success, Warning, Failed
  • ExceptionMessage: Detailed error descriptions
  • ExceptionMessageExtended: Additional diagnostic information
  • Warnings: Non-critical issues encountered

Multi-Valued Attributes

Set multiple values for attributes like url, proxyAddresses, or otherTelephone in a single operation.

Special Properties

Built-in handling for:

  • Password: Secure password management for user operations
  • thumbnailPhoto / jpegPhoto: Binary image data with special encoding
  • PassThruContent: Include custom XML/JSON content in messages

Development Environments

BizTalk Server

Use the LDAP Adapter in orchestrations, ports, and pipelines. Configure connection settings via the BizTalk Administration Console. See BizTalk Configuration.

IIS / Azure App Service

Deploy the LDAP Web API as a REST endpoint. Call operations via HTTP POST with XML or JSON payloads. Perfect for cloud integrations and modern applications.

Testing & Examples

All operation documentation includes working XML examples you can use immediately. Example files referenced as %ExamplesFolder%\[Entity]\[Operation].xml are available with product installations.

Best Practices

Use expectedMatchCount

Always specify expectedMatchCount to validate your search criteria returns the expected number of records. Prevents unintended bulk operations.

Limit returnProperties

Only request the attributes you need. Improves performance and reduces response message size, especially for queries returning many records.

Leverage Transactions

Use transactionScopeOption="Required" for operations that must succeed or fail atomically. Ensure MSDTC is properly configured.

Handle Multi-Record Results

Operations like Update, Delete, Enable, Disable, and MoveTo support multiple records. Design your With criteria to match your intent.

Test with Small Batches

When developing, test with limited scope (Base or OneLevel) and specific CN values before executing Subtree searches in production.

Next Steps