From Fedora Directory Server

Why do I get this error message "ldap_search: Administrative limit exceeded"

Anonymous binds will only return a limit of a 1000 entries by default, this is a security mechanism to avoid simple deny of service attacks. This applies to cli tools as well as the java console.

The error logs will return the following string:

"ldap_search: Administrative limit exceeded"

When using the cli with ldapsearch, you can use the -z option when binding as the root DN.

In the access logs, as per described into

"http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/dir-server/cli/log.htm"
- Error 4 for SIZE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED
- Error 11 ADMIN_LIMIT_EXCEEDED (LDAP v3)

Example:

[<some-time-stamp>] conn=1 op=51 RESULT err=4 tag=101 nentries=1000 etime=2 notes=U
[<some-time-stamp>] conn=59 op=0 RESULT err=11 tag=101 nentries=1002 etime=1 notes=U

If you need to return more than a 1000 entries, it is suggested to create a special dedicated user and bind as this user (directory manager will get more than the default limit)

See the documention or the FAQ for nsslapd-lookthroughlimit and nsslapd-sizelimit.