Some Frequently Asked Questions
What is a UUID and why do we need it?
A Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) is a 16-octet (128-bit) value which identifies an object. It usually uses the mac address and time for entropy in generating this 16 byte value. We need it for several things however replication is the biggest driver.
Where can I get more information on how LDAP and UUIDs?
Kurt from OpenLDAP has a draft on it here:
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-zeilenga-ldap-uuid-05.txt
Are there any libraries out there for generating UUIDs?
The 1.5 JDK comes equiped with UUID generation. It has the native code that reads the mac address to generate the UUID value. Here's the Javadocs for the UUID class in 1.5: