Formerly known as PKIS and packaged with Netware 5.0, Novell, Inc.’s Certificate Server (NCS) is now a free product available for download from the Novell Web site.
It is designed to allow site administrators to implement secure, Public Key Infrastructure transactions within their Novell (NOVL) Directory Services (NDS)-based system by providing the ability to create unlimited numbers of server or end-user certificates — up to 30,000 per hour. The certificate data is stored in a secure central location of NDS available only to the effected user.
Digital certificates are often used as a means of encrypting and securely transmitting e-mail messages, as well as verifying the true identity of the sender. NCS is able to create end-user certificates for use in S/MIME compatible e-mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Groupwise 5.5, and Netscape Messenger. Novell also said it plans future support for Lotus Notes and other e-mail clients.
In addition to the NCS, Novell is also making available an SDK for developers, in order to customize or enhance their own security solutions. Certificates issued by NCS are created according to the X.509 version 3 standard.
The Novell Certificate Server is currently in beta, and is available as a free download from the Novell Security Web site.
