# LDAP Issues

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [April 23, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603 "2008-04-23T14:41:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Rory_McKinley)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603/1 "2008-04-23T14:41:23Z")

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Hi All

I am at wits end trying to get LDAP to work in Rails running on ubuntu  
(yes, I’m a noob!). I have version 0.9.7 of ruby-ldap installed. Every  
thing seems fine, until I test in the console:

> > require ‘ldap’  
> > =\> [“LDAP”]  
> > l = LDAP::Conn.new(‘[xxxx.xxxx.xxxx.net](http://xxxx.xxxx.xxxx.net)’, 389)  
> > =\> #LDAP::Conn:0xb74a4a40  
> > l.set\_option( LDAP::LDAP\_OPT\_PROTOCOL\_VERSION, 3 )  
> > =\> #LDAP::Conn:0xb74a4a40  
> > l.bind(‘cn=xxxx,dc=xxxx,dc=xxxx,dc=xxxx’, ‘xxxxxxx’)  
> > LDAP::ResultError: Can’t contact LDAP server  
> > from (irb):4:in `bind’  
> > from (irb):4

Now, it appears that a connection object is created, but yet it says  
that it can’t contact the server. I can telnet to the relevant server so  
there is connectivity but further than that, I have no idea.

Any clues as to what might be causing this?

All help appreciated.

Rory

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**Author:** ![Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Rory_McKinley)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603/2 "2008-04-23T19:42:07Z")

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On Wed, 2008-04-23 at 14:40 +0200, Rory McKinley wrote:

> > > l.set\_option( LDAP::LDAP\_OPT\_PROTOCOL\_VERSION, 3 )  
> > > Any clues as to what might be causing this?
> 
> All help appreciated.
> 
> Rory

* * *

here’s how I do it using ruby-ldap

\*\* my\_ldap.rb \*\*  
require “ldap”

# Provides access to authenticate user from LDAP using the user provided

user name and password  
class MyLDAP \< LDAP::Conn  
BASE\_DN = “dc=example,dc=com”  
PEOPLE\_DN = “ou=people,dc=example,dc=com”  
LDAP\_HOST = “[server.example.com](http://server.example.com)”  
LDAP\_PORT = 389  
PROTOCOL\_VERSION = 3

# sets up connection to LDAP server

def initialize (host = LDAP\_HOST, version = PROTOCOL\_VERSION)  
super( host, LDAP\_PORT )  
set\_option( LDAP::LDAP\_OPT\_PROTOCOL\_VERSION, version )  
return self  
end

# Bind with the user supplied information

def bind(mydn, pass)  
dn = “uid=” + mydn + “,” + PEOPLE\_DN  
super( dn, pass )  
end  
end

\*\* user.rb \*\*

# Takes user login name and password and connects to LDAP

def self.login(login, password)  
if password == ‘’  
return false  
end  
begin  
conn = MyLDAP.new.bind(login, password)  
rescue  
return false  
end  
return conn.bound?  
conn.unbind  
end

# Forces user login screen

def try\_to\_login  
User.login(self.login, self.password)  
end

and then finally, in my ‘login\_controller.rb’

@user = User.new(params[:user])  
logged\_in\_user = @user.try\_to\_login  
if logged\_in\_user  
@authuser=User.find(:first,  
:conditions =\> [“login = ?”, @user[:login] ])  
if @authuser == nil  
flash[:notice] = “You are not authorized to use this system”  
else  
session[:user\_id] = @authuser.id  
session[:user\_name] = @authuser.name  
if session[:direct\_to]  
redirect\_to (session[:direct\_to])  
else  
redirect\_to(:controller =\> “main\_tabnav” )  
end  
end

So I think you should have enough information to make it work.

Craig

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**Author:** ![Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Rory_McKinley)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603/3 "2008-04-23T19:59:09Z")

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An LDAP object doesn’t try to connect when it’s created, so don’t be  
surprised that succeeded. When you say you can telnet, was that to the  
standard port 23 or did you test 389.

On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 8:40 AM, Rory McKinley

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**Author:** ![Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Rory_McKinley)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603/4 "2008-04-23T21:13:15Z")

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Mack Earnhardt wrote:

> An LDAP object doesn’t try to connect when it’s created, so don’t be  
> surprised that succeeded. When you say you can telnet, was that to the  
> standard port 23 or did you test 389.  
>   
> Hi

It was port 389. I also, at the suggestion of one of my colleagues,  
tried setting up Thunderbird to use the LDAP server for an address book.  
This worked perfectly, so, in terms of connectivity it seems to be  
working.

Does Rails store any debugging/error info that could help pinpoint a  
reason for this lack of connectivity?

Regards

Rory

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Rory_McKinley)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 6:49am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603/5 "2008-04-24T06:49:07Z")

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On Thu, 2008-04-24 at 06:24 +0200, Rory McKinley wrote:

> > BASE\_DN = “dc=example,dc=com”
> > 
> > # Bind with the user supplied information
> 
> the method definitions?

* * *

It was years ago when I wrote this and I think I got it off the wiki  
([http://wiki.rubyonrails.org](http://wiki.rubyonrails.org)) - I honestly don’t remember but it worked  
really nicely.

Craig

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Rory_McKinley)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 6:25am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603/6 "2008-04-24T06:25:08Z")

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Craig W. wrote:

> LDAP\_HOST = “[server.example.com](http://server.example.com)”  
> dn = “uid=” + mydn + “,” + PEOPLE\_DN  
> super( dn, pass )  
> end  
> end

Hi Craig

I will give this a try. Can you perhaps tell me why you use “super” in  
the method definitions?

Rory

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@Rory\_McKinley](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Rory_McKinley)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ldap-issues/135603/7 "2008-04-24T18:06:17Z")

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On Wed, 2008-04-23 at 21:48 -0700, Craig W. wrote:

> > > class MyLDAP \< LDAP::Conn  
> > > end  
> > > I will give this a try. Can you perhaps tell me why you use “super” in  
> > > the method definitions?
> 
> * * *
> 
> It was years ago when I wrote this and I think I got it off the wiki  
> ([http://wiki.rubyonrails.org](http://wiki.rubyonrails.org)) - I honestly don’t remember but it worked  
> really nicely.

* * *

OK - I’m at work now and I have my pickaxe book and it appears that the  
reason to use ‘super’ is to to invoke the parent’s initializer.

Specifically, “within the body of a method, a call to super acts just  
like a call to that original method, except that the search for a method  
body starts in the superclass of the object that was found to contain  
the original method.”

Craig