Centrify Corp. has released DirectControl, a Microsoft Active Directory-based program that enables network administrators to use AD’s identity, access and policy management for not only Windows, but also Unix and Linux systems.
According to Centrify CEO Tom Kemp, with DirectControl “administrators can reduce management costs associated with user account management, strengthen security throughout their organization and improve user productivity through the consolidation of multiple user IDs without having to go in and make costly changes to either their AD or Unix/Linux infrastructures.”
Of course, this kind of integration can be done by hand using Server 2003, Microsoft’s Services for Unix 3.5 and OpenLDAP on Linux. With this approach though, administrators must manually configure the user objects for the Linux users.
Other commercial products, such as Vintela Inc.’s Vintela Authentication Services, require changes to be made to the existing Linux identity and password management programs. Vintela’s solution is to migrate users to AD, while Centrify’s approach enables AD administrators to manage Red Hat Linux, Solaris, VMware ESX, and HP/UX users without having to modify the native Unix and Linux identity management systems, Kemp said.
Source: eWeek
Articles RSS