eDirectory 8.8 and higher supports installation and configuration of eDirectory servers by a non-root user. Earlier versions of eDirectory could be installed and configured only by a root user with only a single instance of eDirectory running on a host.
With eDirectory 8.8 or higher, any non-root user can use a tarball build to install eDirectory. There can be multiple instances of eDirectory binary installs by the same or different users. However, even for non-root user installs, the system-level services such as the Novell International Cryptographic Infrastructure (NICI), SNMP and SLP can be installed only with the root privileges. NICI is a mandatory component, and SNMP and SLP are optional components for eDirectory functionality. Also, with a package install, only a single instance can be installed by the root user.
After the install, a non-root user can configure eDirectory server instances using his or her individual tarball installation, or by using a binary installation. This means that there can be multiple instances of eDirectory servers running on a single host because any user, either root or non-root, can configure different eDirectory server instances on a single host by using either a package or tarball installation. For more details on the Multiple Instances feature, see Upgrading Multiple Instances.
Non-root installation and configuration is applicable to Linux platforms only. For more information on non-root installation and configuration, see Installing eDirectory 8.8 as a Non-root User.