Novell's flagship directory service which was included in NetWare as Novell Directory Services (NDS) beginning with Version 4. It is also available for Windows NT/2000, Windows Server 2003, Solaris, Linux, AIX and HP-UX.

Based on X.500
Based on the X.500 directory standard, eDirectory maintains a hierarchical database of information about network resources within a global enterprise, including networks, users, subgroups, servers, volumes and printers. Users log in to the network, and eDirectory determines their access rights. eDirectory also supports LDAP.

When eDirectory was NDS, it supported the X.500 structure, but not all of the protocols. With the addition of software from Nexor Limited, eDirectory could query X.500 directories in governmental agencies and other organizations.

From NDS to eDirectory
As of Version 8, Novell Directory Services (NDS) became NDS eDirectory and a platform independent product that used the Internet's DNS naming system. Later, the NDS was dropped from the name. Version 8.5 added DNS Federation, which unites DNS with NDS's original directory architecture, in which every network resource was an object. See directory service.