Red Hat identity management and security solutions are
designed to:

• Simplify management of identity information in complex heterogeneous environments.
• Bring the benefits of the open source development model to enterprise identity and security infrastructures.
• Provide a clear path to integrated identity and security control as processes and solutions continue to evolve.

Red Hat Directory Server is an LDAP-based server that centralizes application settings, user profiles, group data, policies, and access control information into an operating system-independent, network-based registry. Forming the central repository for an Identity Management infrastructure, Red Hat Directory Server simplifies user management, eliminating data redundancy and automating data maintenance. It also improves security, by storing policies and access control information, Red Hat Directory Server creates a single authentication source across entire enterprise for both intra- and extranet applications.

Features Overview

• Centralizes management of people and their profiles, thus reducing administrative costs
• Acts as a central repository for user profiles and preferences, enabling personalization
• Allows 4-way multi-master replication of data across the enterprise, providing a centralized, consistent data source available to enterprise applications
• Enables single sign-on access with a partner solution
• Provides scalability for massive numbers of users by containing the information control required for developing extranet applications
• Provides full support for 64-bit HP-UX and Solaris platforms.
• Provides the foundation for strong certificate-based authentication when used in conjunction with a Red Hat Certificate System
• Directory Server is available for the following operating environments:
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 3 (X86), 32-bit
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 4 (X86), 32-bit
  • Solaris 9 (SPARC), 32-bit
  • Solaris 9 (SPARC), 64-bit
  • HP-UX 11i for HP-9000 and HP Integrity servers, 64-bi

The challenges of identity management
The challenges of identity management and security are familiar
to organizations of all types and sizes:

• User problems with passwords, access, privacy, and security disrupt productivity and continue to account for a large percentage of IT costs.
• Extending access to more users with vastly different needs and roles requires more flexible systems for managing user information while reducing per-user administrative costs.
• Poor scalability, reliability, and interoperability of user management systems in heterogeneous environments lead to unpredictable delays in deploying mission-critical applications.
• Expenses associated with increasingly complex auditing and compliance requirements multiply when user data and access rights can't be retrieved or modified rapidly and accurately.

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