Quest Introduces New Identity And Authentication Tools

The free Identity Manager for Unix makes it easier to manage users and groups across Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X systems, while Quest Authentication Services brings those systems into an Active Directory infrastructure.Quest Software, a longtime systems and network management solutions provider, last week launched the free Quest Identity Manager for Unix to support Unix-based (including Linux and Mac OS X) users and groups. With the tool, administrators can use a central management console to set up or delete user accounts across multiple systems, change passwords, and generate reports on accounts and groups. The management console is browser-based and can be run from any platform, including Windows.

Among other functions, the Identity Manager can determine whether managed systems can support Active Directory bridging -- i.e., being made "full citizens" in a Microsoft Active Directory-based network environment. For those that can, Quest has introduced a new version of its Authentication Services package. The new version enables a one-time password authentication, lets administrators monitor changes to Unix data stored in Active Directory, and includes the Identity Manager administrative console. Version 4.0 also updates its OS X Group Policy features to support those in Snow Leopard.

Quest Identity Manager, as mentioned, is free and can be downloaded here. Quest Authentication Services costs $37 per Active Directory user plus $325 for each Unix/Linux/OS X server joined to Active Directory. A trial version is available here.