In this appendix, we will walk through the process of building OpenLDAP from source code. We will begin by configuring our Linux platform to compile OpenLDAP. Then we will configure, compile, and install OpenLDAP. Compiling OpenLDAP might sound daunting, but it is not, and I have attempted to provide instructions straightforward enough that even those without experience of C will be able to quickly compile from source.
Many Linux and UNIX distributions are slow to migrate from one version of OpenLDAP to another. The reasons for this are open to speculation, but one reason may be that distribution maintainers are reluctant to quickly adopt new versions of software when it already performs well, is integrated with other services, and performs a task that is security-sensitive and functionally central to many organizations. OpenLDAP, providing authentication services, is just such a service.
Because of this reluctance, you may not find the latest and greatest version of OpenLDAP included in your Linux or UNIX distribution of choice. If you need (or want) the newest features that OpenLDAP has to offer, you may want to fetch a clean copy of the source code and build from scratch.