You filters are not valid. A valid search filter must be: (objectclass=*) (cn=Kurt) (!(cn=Kurt)) (&(uid=kdz)(cn=kurt)) Etc. You got burned because we allow simple filters not to enclosed by parens (as required). Any filter not enclosed by parens is assumed to be a simple filter... In 1.x, no error is generated. In 2.x, a error should be generated. Kurt