Sun Microsystems
Wednesday unveiled new and improved network identity software to ensure
secure delivery of Java-based Web services.
One of a slew of Sun’s software announcements this week, the vendor’s move
to address network identity comes at a crucial time. The consensus among
analysts and CIOs is that it is becoming more imperative for enterprises to
increase the access to information by providing secure remote access to data
for employees, partners and suppliers. Sun is competing with Microsoft and
IBM to provide such software, whose various parts server as gatekeepers to
safeguard users’ personal data.
Sun also said the new software is geared to pare total-cost-of-ownership
(TCO), which, along with return-on-investment (ROI), is one of the biggest
buzzwords in the IT business in this weak economy. The products do so by
consolidating user identities, centralizing security functions and allowing
user administration across one infrastructure. This eliminates the need for
the CIO to run out and buy a patchwork of products.
The new software includes the Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2, the Sun ONE
Directory Proxy Server 5.2, the Sun ONE Directory Server Resource Kit 5.2,
the Sun ONE Meta-Directory 5.1, the Sun ONE Identity Synchronization for
Windows 1.0 and the Sun ONE Identity Server 6.0, Service Pack 1.0.
The heart of the identity platform, Sun ONE Directory Server, serves as the
central authentication resource across all applications and devices. The
latest version of that product, Sun ONE Directory 5.2, includes support for
Solaris on x86 architecture (Directory already supports Unix, Linux and
Windows), 64-bit cache support, 4-way multi-master replication over Wide
Area Networks, support for global deployments, and a protocol-independent
front end that supports both LDAP and DSML.
Other enhancements include:
between both Sun ONE Directory Server and Windows environments
infrastructure, protects against LDAP denial-of-service attacks, and ensures
application compatibility through schema mapping
using the Sun ONE Directory Server
stored identities from disparate sources such as customer databases, HR
applications, network operating systems, messaging and telephone databases
Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2, Sun ONE Directory Proxy Server 5.2, Sun ONE
Directory Server Resource Kit 5.2, the Sun ONE Meta-Directory 5.1 are
available now, with Sun ONE Identity Synchronization for Windows arriving in
July. The products will include support for the Liberty Alliance Identity Web
Services Framework and OASIS Web
Services Security (WS-Security) standards next year.
