Secure LDAP: directory lookups wrapped in TLS, which normally listen on port 636. Support for TLS 1.3 arrived with Windows Server 2025.
Also called LDAP over TLS.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains LDAPS in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- HTTP / HTTPS
The protocols of the web, with HTTPS being HTTP secured by TLS.
- LDAP
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, the standard way to bind to and query directories like Active Directory. In Azure it is provided by Entra Domain Services.
- TLS
Transport Layer Security, the encryption protocol for traffic like HTTPS and Bastion sessions over port 443. On a storage account, minimumTlsVersion fixes the oldest accepted version without opening any network access.
Related terms
- Active Directory over LDAP
Lets vCenter Single Sign-On authenticate against Active Directory by speaking LDAP to it, ideally over LDAPS. With Integrated Windows Authentication gone from vCenter 9.0, either this or identity federation must be used instead.
- LDAP channel binding
A safeguard for LDAP over TLS that links sign-in to the encrypted connection itself, blocking relay attacks. Domain controllers newly built on Windows Server 2025 have it set to When supported out of the box.