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www.novell.com DirXML ™ Competitive Comparisons Ed Anderson Director, Product Management Novell, Inc. eander@novell.com Joe Skehan Product Management Directory Services and Provisioning Novell, Inc. jskehan@novell.com
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Vision…one Net A world where networks of all types—corporate and public, intranets, extranets, and the Internet—work together as one Net and securely connect employees, customers, suppliers, and partners across organizational boundaries Mission To solve complex business and technical challenges with Net business solutions that enable people, processes, and systems to work together and our customers to profit from the opportunities of a networked world
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Agenda Market Segmentation Technology Components Market Competitors Novell DirXML agenda
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Market Segmentation
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Enterprise Application Integration Meta-directory Provisioning DirXML Market Segmentation
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Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Data oriented Been around for a while Very expensive (lots of consulting required) Characterized by XML and other standards Square peg in a round hole… Players Middleware Application Server Platform Custom Consulting
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Meta-directory Consolidation of directory data (identity) to a central repository Most directory products have an associated meta- directory component Typically based on rote synchronization Players Microsoft iPlanet Critical Path Siemens Maxware Metamerge
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Provisioning Automatic account creation, deletion, and modification based on business policies Usually includes workflow Auditing and reporting Digital access rights and permissions are also provisioned Most support batch imports from HR systems Players Access360 Business Layers
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Novell DirXML Plays in all three segments EAI Integration of identities across applications Complimentary with general-purpose EAI solutions Meta-directory Consolidation and reconciliation of common data into a central repository Provisioning Use of workflow rules to define the behavior of integrated systems An extension to eDirectory Uses the event system and data replication engine Can connect to any system Connects without requiring a change to the existing application or deployment topology 100% Standards-based
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Technology Components
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Key Components Workflow Reporting and Auditing Management Persistent Join Real-time Standards Bi-directional synchronization Connector suite Extensibility components
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Workflow Workflow pertains to five activities Design The tools that visually map out the provisioning process This is where the business processes are represented Initiation From where an add, modify, or delete event is initiated Escalation Suspending the data operation to acquire approval before proceeding with the operation Tracking The status of any operation can be extracted from the workflow process Enforcement
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Reporting and Auditing Status Current status on connector state Current status on provisioning process Auditing Data collection Logging Alerts Reporting Data analysis Policy enforcement Reconciliation This function points out the differences between connected systems
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Management UI Web-based Accessible anywhere Administrators can’t be tied to an office Real-time Up-to-date views Design interfaces Lay it out Model it Export it Configure it
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Persistent Join Join engines combine data elements from different data sources A ‘join’ is the same concept as that used in the database world The ‘joined’ data constitutes the ‘meta-data’ Meta-data stored in a directory constitutes the meta- directory Persistent join Joined data committed to disk Exposed through an intermediate method (meta-directory) Non-persistent join Synchronize common attributes within the data elements but don’t expose the joined data anywhere
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Real-time (Event Driven) Push Events are generated by one location and then pushed to all applications Pull Events are detected in the applications and then pulled to a central meta-directory Bi-directional Events are detected at all points pulled to a central join engine, and then redistributed out to all other applications Good Bad
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Standards Application interfaces Some are standard, some are not…all moving to XML Protocols Important for remote connectivity LDAP is critical, LDIF can be useful HTTP/SSL and IP generally XML Many flavors (vocabularies) DSML—watch for an increased role for DSML SAML—security federation between systems will rely on SAML in the future SOAP—Web Service enablement of integration will also be important
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Bi-directional Data Synchronization Novell DirXML
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Connectors Database Platform Application Directory Messaging Security Device
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Extensibility Developer tools SDK Tools Documentation Validation Scripting, default configuration, exception handling XML The Universal Connector LDAP File-based synchronization
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Market Competitors
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Provisioning Landscape Novell Access360 Business Layers DirXML, Identity Provisioning eRole eProvision, Day1
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Access360 enRole Things they did right… Workflow integrated Web-based access and management Sets security attributes in applications Accommodates user self-service Things to watch out for… Forces all passwords to be set to the same value Available only on Solaris Changes are synchronized uni-directionally No security offering for authentication or SSO Access360 must develop all connectors…the system is only extensible by Access360
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Business Layers eProvision Day1 Things they did right… Good point solution for managing employees Graphical workflow All management web-based Works well in a Microsoft environment Things to watch out for… Tied to Windows, won’t work with other platforms Completely dependent on COM Changes must originate from the BL console Except for PeopleSoft, the exception Changes are synchronized uni-directionally Limited connectors, no developer tools
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Meta-Directory Landscape Novell Microsoft iPlanet Critical Path Siemens Metamerge Maxware DirXML Microsoft Meta-directory Services Directory Server, Integration Edition Meta-directory Server DirXmetahub Integrator DSE
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Microsoft Meta-directory Services (MMS) Things they did right… Good management interfaces Free (product only) Things to watch out for… Works only on Windows Uses a proprietary scripting language for coding connectors Requires an expensive consulting engagement Not really integrated with Active Directory Uses an intermediate data store (meta-views) Requires a common key for the join Limited connectors, only mainstream applications
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iPlanet Directory Server Integration Edition Things they did right… Strong use of LDAP, directory integration Licensed code from ISOCOR Things to watch out for… Hasn’t seen development until recently Limited connectors, connector development is very difficult Limited platform support Requires a common key between applications Weak supporting programs Consulting, technical support, developer support
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Critical Path CP Meta Directory Things they did right… Acquired product from ISOCOR Good management and configuration tools Works with any LDAP server Things to watch out for… Forces all data to a directory view, not a good fit for provisioning Limited use of XML Limited platform support No way to implement business logic (outside of consulting) Custom translators must be built for all connectors
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Siemens DirXmetahub Things they did right… Strong use of LDAP, directory integration Good platform support Pretty good management utilities Good granularity of control Things to watch out for… Limited presence in North America Data synchronization uses intermediate files to move data Based on IBM MQ-Series Confusing product line Uses Tcl as the scripting language
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Metamerge Integrator Things they did right… Event-driven Integration with other message bus technologies Good platform support Good support for rules and transformations Things to watch out for… More like an EAI solution No consolidated, persistent view of joined data Separate connectors are required for bi-directional synchronization Focused on directories, databases, and HR applications
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MaXware Data Synchronization Engine (DSE) Things they did right… Good integration of business logic during synchronization Directory agnostic Provides a persistent, joined view of the data Things to watch out for… Uses an intermediate state for a two-stage synchronization Computes the “join” during each event (no indexing) Limited connectors, connector development is very difficult Limited to directories and databases only
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Novell DirXML
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The One Net Foundation Novell eDirectory Novell eDirectory Identity Repository Enforces policy through complex data relationships Defines identity data through schema Stores identity data in a scalable database and manages the stored data Organizes identity data in a hierarchical namespace Distributes data through advanced replication Provides access to data through standard protocols and APIs Controls access to data using authentication and authorization Secures identity data in storage and during transactions
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eDirectoryeDirectory Identity Integration (Integrated policy) Microsoft Applications Messaging Applications ERP Applications … DirXMLDirXML Identity Repository (Policy) Identity Provisioning Business Policies and Practices Identity Management DelegatedAdministrationDelegatedAdministration User Self- Service Service
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Novell DirXML Workflow Graphical workflow will be available this fall (Provisioning) Implements policy-based workflow in the DirXML engine Reporting and Auditing DirXML now includes advanced logging (data collection) DirXML events can be collected and audited through a standard auditing facility (NAAS) Management DirXML includes a graphics management and configuration utility available through iManager
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Novell DirXML Persistent Join All data is represented in eDirectory in its “joined” state Real-time Change events are detected real-time in eDirectory and in the connected application Standards DirXML uses XML, DSML, LDAP, IP/SSL DirXML interfaces and data formats were submitted to the W3C as DSML 2.0 Bi-directional synchronization Authoritative data source(s) are enforced All communication is bi-directional Individual attributes can be managed separately
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Novell DirXML Connectors Active Directory eDirectory NT Domain LDAP iPlanet Critical Path SecureWay Exchange Notes GroupWise Delimited Text PeopleSoft SAP HR Oracle DB/2 SQL Server Informix x.500 Plus many others…
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Novell DirXML Extensibility Training / Education Sample Code Developer Kit Driver emulation Developer support http://developer.novell.com/dirxml
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Conclusions Novell DirXML is the best choice for identity integration DirXML has more features than any other product No modifications are required to work in the existing environment DirXML integrates with everything DirXML provides immediate return-on-investment All the tools are available to make DirXML extend to support any environment Novell provides all the back-end programs and services to ensure that DirXML will successfully solve any problem
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