LDBM is obsolete.

doc/man/man5/slapd-bdb.5

@@ -9,11 +9,9 @@
 .SH DESCRIPTION
 The \fBbdb\fP backend to
 .BR slapd (8)
-is the recommended backend for a normal 
+is the recommended primary backend for a normal 
 .B slapd 
 database.
-However, it takes more care than with the LDBM backend to configure
-it properly.
 It uses the Sleepycat Berkeley DB (BDB) package to store data.
 It makes extensive use of indexing and caching to speed data access.
 .LP

doc/man/man5/slapd-ldbm.5

@@ -9,11 +9,12 @@ ETCDIR/slapd.conf
 .SH DESCRIPTION
 The LDBM backend to
 .BR slapd (8)
-is the database backend which is easiest to configure.
-However, it does not offer the data durability features of the BDB
-backend.
-It uses Berkeley DB or GDBM to store data.
-It makes extensive use of indexing and caching to speed data access.
+is an easy\-to\-configure but obsolete database backend.  It does not
+offer the data durability features of the BDB and HDB backends and
+hence is considered deprecated in favor of these robust backends.
+LDBM uses lightweight non\-transactional data interfaces, such as those
+provided by GDBM or Berkeley DB, to store data.  It makes extensive
+use of indexing and caching to speed data access.
 .SH CONFIGURATION
 These
 .B slapd.conf

doc/man/man5/slapd.access.5

@@ -823,7 +823,7 @@ identity, control is passed straight to the subsequent rules.
 .SH OPERATION REQUIREMENTS
 Operations require different privileges on different portions of entries.
 The following summary applies to primary database backends such as
-the LDBM, BDB, and HDB backends.   Requirements for other backends may
+the BDB and HDB backends.   Requirements for other backends may
 (and often do) differ.
 .LP
 The
@@ -946,9 +946,8 @@ so it is fully honored by all backends; for all other operations
 and for the discovery phase of the search operation,
 full ACL semantics is only supported by the primary backends, i.e.
 .BR back-bdb (5),
-.BR back-hdb (5),
 and
-.BR back-ldbm (5).
+.BR back-hdb (5).
 
 Some other backend, like
 .BR back-sql (5),

doc/man/man5/slapd.conf.5

@@ -1683,10 +1683,10 @@ They are documented in the
 manual pages.
 .TP
 .B bdb
-This is the recommended backend for a normal slapd database.
-However, it takes more care than with the LDBM backend to configure
-it properly.
-It uses the Sleepycat Berkeley DB (BDB) package to store data.
+This is the recommended primary backend for a normal slapd database.
+It takes care to configure it properly.
+It uses the transactional database interface of the Sleepycat Berkeley
+DB (BDB) package to store data.
 .TP
 .B config
 This backend is used to manage the configuration of slapd run-time.
@@ -1705,10 +1705,11 @@ This backend acts as a proxy to forward incoming requests to another
 LDAP server.
 .TP
 .B ldbm
-This is the database backend which is easiest to configure.
-However, it does not offer the data durability features of the BDB
-backend.
-It uses Berkeley DB or GDBM to store data.
+This is an easy-to-configure but obsolete database backend. It
+does not offer the data durability features of the BDB and HDB
+backends and hence is deprecated in favor of these robust backends.
+LDBM uses lightweight non-transactional DB interfaces,
+such as those providing by GDBM or Berkeley DB, to store data.
 .TP
 .B ldif
 This database uses the filesystem to build the tree structure