A.6. Comparing Entries

ldapcompare checks entries to see if the specified entry or entries contain an attribute of a specific value. For example, this checks to see if an entry has an sn value of Smith: 
ldapcompare -D "cn=directory manager" -w secret -p 389 -h server.example.com -x sn:smith uid=bjensen,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
comparing type: "sn" value: "smith" in entry "uid=bjensen,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com"
compare FALSE

ldapcompare -D "cn=directory manager" -w secret -p 389 -h server.example.com -x sn:smith uid=jsmith,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
comparing type: "sn" value: "smith" in entry "uid=jsmith,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com"
compare TRUE
The compare attribute can be specified in one of three ways:
  • A single attribute:value statement passed in the command line directly 
    sn:Smith
  • A single attribute::base64value statement passed in the command line directly, for attributes like jpegPhoto or to verify certificates or CRLs 
    jpegPhoto:dkdkPDKCDdko0eiofk==
  • An attribute:file statement that points to a file containing a list of comparison values for the attribute, and the script iterates through the list 
    postalCode:/tmp/codes.txt
The compare operation itself has to be run against a specific entry or group of entries. A single entry DN can be passed through the command line, or a list of DNs to be compared can be given using the -f option.

Example A.1. Comparing One Attribute Value to One Entry

Both the attribute-value comparison and the DN are passed with the script. 
ldapcompare -D "cn=directory manager" -w secret -p 389 -h server.example.com -x sn:smith uid=jsmith,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
comparing type: "sn" value: "smith" in entry "uid=jsmith,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com"
compare TRUE

Example A.2. Comparing a List Attribute Values from a File

First, create a file of possible sn values. 
jensen
johnson
johannson
jackson
jorgenson
Then, create a list of entries to compare the values to. 
uid=jen200,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
uid=dsj,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
uid=matthewjms,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
uid=john1234,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
uid=jack.son.1990,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
Then run the script. 
ldapcompare -D "cn=directory manager" -w secret -p 389 -h server.example.com -x sn:/tmp/surnames.txt -f /tmp/names.txt
comparing type: "sn" value: "jensen" in entry "uid=jen200,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com"
compare TRUE