Definitions for "Operational attribute"
An operation attribute is an attribute implemented internally by a particular directory implementation. Operational attributes do not appear in the schema and must be requested explicitly. Operational Attributes occurred originally in the X.500 specifications for a directory service and have been carried over into the LDAP version 3 specifications ( RFC 2251*).
A directory schema attribute that is used by the directory service itself or other services of Microsoft Exchange Server.
An attribute that is used only for administering the directory database. It is an artifact attribute that is never defined in the schema and does not require any storage. Generally, when you set the operational attribute, you trigger some immediate action on the server.