LDAP stands for the "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol". It was originally designed to provide access to X.500 databases; however it is now more common to find LDAP servers in a standalone capacity. LDAP has become the defacto standard for internet directory services. Many of the internet email directories (such as bigfoot and four11) provide LDAP access to their databases. LDAP has caught on in many other capacities on the internet; currently Netscape, Novell, Microsoft, Sun and many other large companies are incorporating LDAP into their directory strategies. LDAP is well suited to replace traditional Directory Services, such as NIS.