Novell eDirectory

Novell eDirectory
Name	Novell eDirectory
Developer	Novell
Released	1993
Operating system	NetWare, Linux, Windows, Solaris, AIX
Platform	x86, x64, SPARC, POWER
Genre	Directory service, LDAP, Identity management
License	Proprietary

Novell eDirectory

Novell eDirectory is a directory service product originating from Novell and used for large-scale identity, resource, and policy management across heterogeneous environments. It operates in enterprise settings alongside products and organizations such as Microsoft, IBM, Oracle Corporation, Red Hat, and VMware and competes with technologies like Active Directory, OpenLDAP, Sun Solaris, and Tivoli. Adopted in deployments including Bank of America, AT&T, General Electric, Siemens, and NASA, it provided centralized administration, cross-platform integration, and replication capabilities that addressed needs in sectors such as healthcare, finance, telecommunications, and education.

Overview

eDirectory is an LDAP- and X.500-inspired hierarchical directory service designed for distributed identity and resource information. It supports schemas and naming contexts akin to X.500, uses Lightweight Directory Access Protocol implementations associated with projects like OpenLDAP and standards bodies including the IETF, and interacts with certificate systems tied to RSA Security and Entrust. As an enterprise directory it interfaces with middleware vendors such as IBM WebSphere, Oracle WebLogic, and Apache Tomcat, and is often compared with directories from Microsoft Corporation and Sun Microsystems.

History and Development

Development traces to directory initiatives at Novell competing with directory efforts by Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and open-source projects like FreeIPA and 389 Directory Server. Early versions ran on Novell NetWare while cross-platform ports targeted Linux, Solaris, and AIX as corporations such as AT&T and Bell Labs influenced networking standards. Strategic partnerships and corporate events involving The Attachmate Group, Micro Focus International, SUSE, and acquisitions impacted the product roadmap. eDirectory evolved through releases synchronized with enterprise trends seen at Intel, AMD, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell Technologies for hardware support and with software ecosystems from SAP SE and Oracle Corporation for application integration.

Architecture and Features

The core architecture uses a distributed, multi-master replication model similar to designs discussed by Berkeley DB-backed systems and academic work from MIT and Stanford University on distributed directories. Features include schema extensibility comparable to LDAPv3 schemas, hierarchical naming inspired by X.500 Directory Information Trees, flexible attribute storage paralleling approaches in Oracle Database and IBM DB2, and LDAP, DSML, and SOAP interfaces used by middleware stacks from Apache Software Foundation and Microsoft Azure. Key features used in enterprise contexts are global replication akin to models in Cassandra (database) for availability, partitioning strategies analogous to Oracle RAC, offline synchronization like solutions from Symantec and VMware, and support for secure LDAP layers compatible with OpenSSL and certificate authorities such as DigiCert.

Administration and Management

Administration employs console tools and command-line utilities comparable to management suites from Microsoft System Center, IBM Tivoli, and CA Technologies. Role-based administration mirrors models advocated by NIST and compliance frameworks enforced by PCI DSS, HIPAA, and SOX which large adopters such as Walmart, Target Corporation, and Pfizer had to satisfy. Management workflows integrate with identity governance solutions by vendors like SailPoint, Okta, Ping Identity, and ForgeRock, and can be scripted using automation tools from Red Hat Ansible, HashiCorp Terraform, Puppet (software), and Chef (software).

Security and Authentication

Security mechanisms include LDAP over TLS, support for SASL mechanisms including GSSAPI used with MIT Kerberos and Heimdal, and X.509 certificate integration compatible with enterprise PKI deployments such as Microsoft Certificate Services, Entrust Datacard, and OpenCA. Authentication and single sign-on scenarios align with federation standards like SAML 2.0, OAuth implementations from Google, and identity protocols used by Facebook and Amazon Web Services. Hardened deployments reference guidelines from NIST SP 800-53, ISO/IEC 27001, and auditing integrations with Splunk, IBM QRadar, and ArcSight.

Integration and Interoperability

eDirectory integrates with operating systems and platforms such as Microsoft Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Solaris, and AIX, and with virtualization layers from VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and KVM. It interoperates with enterprise applications including SAP NetWeaver, Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, and collaboration suites from Atlassian and Microsoft Exchange. Directory synchronization and provisioning connect to identity management systems like SailPoint IdentityIQ, Oracle Identity Manager, and cloud identity services from Okta and Azure Active Directory as seen in migrations by organizations like British Telecom and Deutsche Telekom.

Deployment and Use Cases

Common deployments include large-scale authentication services for corporations such as Citigroup, HSBC, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank, academic identity management at institutions like Harvard University and Stanford University, and government-affiliated projects involving agencies similar to NASA and European Space Agency. Use cases encompass single sign-on, resource discovery across multi-site enterprises such as Siemens AG and General Electric, certificate storage for PKI tied to vendors like Entrust and DigiCert, and integration with network directory services in environments managed by Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks.

Category:Directory services Category:Novell products