The Directory Server provides an administration and configuration framework capable of managing stand-alone servers, server groups, and highly-available deployments that include multiple redundant server instances. Administrators can configure changes locally or remotely on a single server or on all servers in a server group. Each server configuration is stored as a flat file (LDIF) that can be accessed under the cn=config branch of the Directory Information Tree (DIT). Administrators can tune the configuration and perform maintenance functions over LDAP using a suite of command-line tools, or an Administrative Console (for configuration and monitoring). The Directory Server also provides plugins to extend the functionality of its components.