The Directory Information Tree (DIT) is the tree-like, hierarchical structure of the Directory data. Each Directory entry represents a node in the DIT. As you enter Directory data, you define its hierarchy in the Directory Information Tree. The path in the hierarchy from the top-most node (the root entry) to any entry is the unambiguous address of the entry. This path is called the Distinguished Name (DN ) of the entry.
Each entry has a relative distinguished name (RDN), which is a locally unique name. The unambiguous address (DN) of each entry is the concatenated string of RDNs belonging to the parent entries.
DIT Design Considerations: To set up a typical organizational directory, determine which objects you want to store (such as employee entries). Then determine the hierarchy of the tree structure you want to implement (such as country/organization/organizational unit/employee). Finally, determine the object's characteristics that you want to store and make available (such as employee's program preferences, title, manager, phone number, and photo).