Quest Software Inc. (Nasdaq: QSFT), a leading provider of application, database and infrastructure management solutions, today announced the availability of Vintela Authentication Services 3.0. The new version advances cross-platform integration in several key areas. Vintela Authentication Services 3.0 provides native single sign-on for packaged and custom applications, as well as enhanced reporting on access to system resources. The product also eases migration off Network Information Service (NIS) or other Unix authentication mechanisms by eliminating the requirement to reconcile multiple user identities when moving to Active Directory.

Further progress toward single sign-on

Vintela, acquired by Quest Software in 2005, was the first to offer native Active Directory-based single sign-on across Windows and Unix/Linux platforms. Now Quest extends this capability to provide single sign-on for applications. Previously, users on Windows operating systems would have to enter additional user IDs and passwords to access some applications running on Unix or Linux servers. Now, with Vintela Authentication Services 3.0, SAP- or DB2-based applications running on Unix or Linux servers can accept a user’s credential from Active Directory, reducing the need for additional logins, streamlining the user experience and increasing heterogeneous system security, ROI and compliance.

To further expand the single sign-on experience, Vintela Authentication Services 3.0 also includes a new application programming interface (API) for use by customers, systems integrators and custom software developers. The new API offers Unix and Linux connection points and common functions that can be used to create LDAP-based single sign-on opportunities beyond the packaged applications natively supported by Vintela Authentication Services.

'Vintela Authentication Services was the easiest and best product we found for consolidating administration of Unix and Windows user accounts. It supports almost every Unix flavor, and the management utilities fit right into Microsoft's existing tools,” said Mike MacNeill, director of Technical Operations, Cross Country Healthcare Inc. Cross Country Healthcare, based in Boca Raton, Florida, is one of the largest providers of healthcare staffing services in the United States.

Easier migration from NIS to Active Directory

“Many organizations are looking for ways to move away from the use of NIS,” said Nick Nikols, senior analyst, Burton Group. “However, where there are multiple Unix domains, a single user may still have multiple user IDs. For organizations that are looking to leverage their investment in Active Directory to migrate away from NIS, Quest’s approach to this challenge offers an elegant solution and a workable migration path.”

“Ideally, multiple identities would be consolidated down to one per user, but not all customers are ready to undertake this project immediately,” said Jackson Shaw, senior director of product management, Quest Software. “The new Unix Personality Management capability in Vintela Authentication Services 3.0 offers a practical way to move multiple identities into Active Directory immediately, allowing IT administrators to reconcile those identities at their leisure. Because Unix Personality Management does not tie the customer to a proprietary treatment of Unix/Linux attributes in Active Directory, ongoing administration of Active Directory and future identity reconciliation projects can be optimized.”

Enhanced reporting with Quest Reporter

Another area of enhancement in this version of Vintela Authentication Services is a robust reporting capability. Regulatory compliance is increasing the demand for accurate reporting on user access to system resources, and the product now includes (at no additional cost) features of Quest Reporter that allow administrators to track and report on the authentication and access activities of users on Windows, Unix and Linux systems.