Regional University Computing Center Kaiserslautern-Landau

Integrate LDAP address book

Instructions for Thunderbird

Description

The RPTU has a centrally stored address book, a so-called Active Directory (AD), which is automatically updated and contains the e-mail addresses of all employees. Your Thunderbird can access the data in this address book via a network protocol, the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol(LDAP).

In the following instructions, you will learn how to configure the use of the AD of RPTU as an address book in your Thunderbird.

Prerequisites
The most important facts

Brief information

LDAP directory server:

  • Name: freely selectable (e.g.: uni-kl.de)
  • Server address: dc01.uni-kl.de
  • Base DN: dc=uni-kl,dc=de
  • Port number: 636
  • Bind-DN: RPTU-Accountname@rptu.de (e.g.: mus77ter@rptu.de)
  • Use an encrypted connection(SSL) !

Step by step

Illustrated instructions

Integrate address book in Thunderbird
Step 1: Use another LDAP directory server
  • Open Thunderbird and select "Account settings" from the burger menu in the top right-hand corner.
  • Click on the "Edit" button under "Compose & Address"in the "Addressing" section to use a different LPAD directory server.
Step 2: Configure LDAP directory server
  • Now click on "Add" to add a new LDAP directory server.
  • Then make the settings as follows:
    • Name: freely selectable (e.g.: uni-kl.de)
    • Server address: dc01.uni-kl.de
    • Port number: 636
      Important: Activate the option "Use encrypted connection (SSL)"!
    • Base DN: dc=uni-kl,dc=en
    • Bind-DN: RPTU-Accountname@rptu.de (e.g.: mus77ter@rptu.de)
  • Confirm the entry with "OK".
Step 3: First use of the Active Directory address book
  • Click on the "Address book" icon in the left-hand menu bar.
  • Then select the LDAP directory you have just added (in our example with the name "uni-kl.de") from the list of available address books on the left.
  • You can now enter a name that you would like to search for in the search field at the top.
  • When you make your first request, the LDAP server will prompt you to authenticate using a certificate.
    Select your S/MIME certificate stored in Thunderbird and confirm by clicking OK.

    If no certificate is stored, the search will return no results. Create a certificate and then follow the instructions for import the certificate into Thunderbird.
  • A window will then open prompting you to enter your password. Enter your RPTU password (for the account you specified in Step 2) and confirm by clicking“Sign in.”
At a glance
Learn more

Relevant Information

Seek help

Support options