Configuring Directories

Principles relating to directories

Organisational requirements

To operate, Watchdoc requires a user directory. The directory is used to record the various information system users and to store additional data like the e-mail address, group membership, access rights, etc. The directory therefore allows establishing a printing policy based on user groups and possibly entities within your organisation and to establish usage statistics depending on these groups and the users.

Watchdoc uses one or more organisation's directories. They are accessed in real time, and so, does not require them to be duplicated.

If your organisation has a LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. This protocol is based on TCP/IP and was initially designed to allow querying and modifying directory services. It currently constitutes a standard for directory systems including various models: for data, naming, security and for replicating a functional model. type directory, then it needs to be configured so that Watchdoc^® can find your users in it.

If your organisation does not have its own directory, you can use the Guests directory generated by default in Watchdoc and founded on a database (SQL Server or PostgreSQL) which serves to declare Watchdoc users.

Where your organisation has an LDAP directory, then this is the directory that will be used first, with the Guests used for registering "true guests", people who are only passing through and who are not found in your organisation's directory.

If you don't want to use and manage Locations, tick the box Location : I don't want to use locations.

Directories types and roles

There are different types of Watchdoc^® directories to meet various needs:

• USERS: This is the user directory based on the main directory for your organisation. As a general rule, this directory is renamed with the name of the organisation or the entity that it belongs to (e.g. "DOXENSE" in our documentation). In cases where the organisation does not have a directory to reference its users, use the GUESTS directory that is specific to Watchdoc^®, based on an SQL database.

• GUESTS: This is an optional directory created to register Watchdoc^® users, as "guest" users, i.e. users who are not registered in the organisation's primary directory. This is also the directory used as the primary directory when the organisation does not have its own directory.

• CARDS: This is the directory linking Watchdoc^® user accounts and any badges that may be assigned to these users to release their print-jobs. Hence this correspondence directory is only useful in cases where Watchdoc^® works in Validation mode Watchdoc operating mode to release the print jobs after the validation by the user from a dedicated interface (connected terminal to the device or by website web)., with a badge reader installed on the device.

The first time the badge is used is the enrolment Action when a user account is assigned to a badge number belonging to them. Enrolment takes place when a badge is used for the first time. Enrolment may be performed by the IT services manager when they issue a badge to a user or by the user themselves by entering their ID (PIN, PUK or ID and password) which is then assigned to their badge number. Once enrolment is complete, the badge number is definitively assigned to their owner. step, this is when an authenticated user is prompted to enter a 6 or 10 digit ID code assigned to the badge. It is this link between the user and the badge number that is recorded in the CARDS directory

• META: This is a virtual directory grouping all of the other directories declared in Watchdoc^®. Its role is to make it easier to find a user from among all of the directories used by Watchdoc^®. The META directory is installed by default, even if there is only one "user" directory declared. This preventive installation facilitates the handling of another directory declared later. As a general rule, it is the META directory that is configured as the default directory.

When Watchdoc was first installed and configured, if you ticked the WES: Automatically create WES directories and instances in the Automatic configuration section, then all of the Watchdoc directories (Users (LDAP), Meta, Guests and Cards) are automatically created, whether you need them or not.

 

By default, Watchdoc keeps directory information relating to users in (cache) memory. This way it avoids the need to call on the directory too often and can continue to operate normally, even if the directory fails. SQL data can however be stored in a local buffer or on the print server to compensate for any SQL server failure.

Supported directories

• Microsoft Azure Active Directory

• Microsoft Active Directory

• Open LDAP (after layout validation)

• SQL database

• XML file

• Proxy directory: This is used to establish correspondences (between the badge number and the user login or between the name entered from the copier and the user login (e.g. returned from the copies via SNMP or copicodeIP)).

 

For any other type of directory, please contact us.