### Distinguished Names

A hierarchical path exists from the root of the DIT to any entry in the DIB. To access information stored in an entry, a name that uniquely describes that entry must be given. An RDN distinguishes an entry from other entries with the same superior node in the DIT. A sequence of RDNs, starting from the root of the tree, can identify a unique path down the tree, and thus a unique entry. This sequence of RDNs, each of which identifies a particular entry, is the distinguished name of that entry. Each entry in the DIB can be referred to by its distinguished name.

The following figure shows an example of a distinguished name. The shaded boxes in the DIT represent the entries that are named in the column labeled RDN. The schema dictates that countries are named directly below the root, followed by organizations, organization units, and people.

A Distinguished Name in a Directory Information Tree

Every entry in the DIB has a distinguished name, not just the leaf nodes. For example, the entry for the organization, Acme Enterprises (shown in the previous figure) is represented by the shaded box in the Organizations subtree. Its distinguished name is the concatenation of the distinguished name of the previous entry above with its relative distinguished name. The entry for People, Alfred Schmidt, is represented by the shaded box in the People subtree.

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