Automatic pruning of orphaned objects from directory services and other databases

A method for managing objects of a specified category in a directory maintained at a server in a computer network comprising a plurality of servers, each of the objects of the specified category corresponding to a distinguished name, the method effective in reducing accumulation of non-functional objects without sacrificing performance, and the method being executed in accordance with a desired priority on the server in the computer network, the method comprising:

• identifying objects of the specified category in the directory, each of the objects providing a reference to a resource desired to be made accessible to one or more users in the computer network;
• selecting a first identified object from the objects in the directory;
• determining, if the first identified object is deleteable, whether the resource referenced by the first identified object is accessible in the computer network by testing the first identified object for validity of the reference to the resource in the computer network, the testing comprising:
• identifying a machine acting as a domain controller for the first identified object;
• determining a site on which the domain controller is running;
• searching a domain associated with the domain controller for the first identified object;
• checking a server site for the first identified object;
• and
• verifying that the server exists and comparing an identification of a resource referenced by die first identified object with an identification of the first identified object;
• marking the first identified object for deletion if it does not have a valid reference to the resource;
• and
• deleting the marked first identified object from the directory, wherein the resource represented by the first identified object is less accessible in the computer network after the deletion.