Microsoft tries to get into directory spotlight

Microsoft this week took several steps to advance the standing of Active Directory in the minds of users before the code actually hits the streets.

The company announced it has offered up one of Active Directory's synchronization technologies as an industry standard for how directory information gets replicated across servers. Microsoft also disclosed it has signed up a number of third-party vendors to help produce Active Directory deployment and management tools.

And, finally, the company issued a marketing bulletin that warns customers they should not use Novell Directory Services (NDS) for NT 2.0 software if they are planning to move to Active Directory when it ships later this year.

A systems integrator familiar with both Microsoft and Novell products says that NDS for NT 2.0 - which is a version of Novell's directory that sits on top of an NT 4.0 and lets customers manage access to all NT-based network resources via NDS - irreparably alters the NT 4.0 security database making it difficult to upgrade to Windows 2000.

Microsoft itself says that NDS for NT 2.0 merely redirects security requests away from the NT 4.0 security database. However, Microsoft's marketing bulletin still warns that even this leseer charge can make upgrading from NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 and Active Directory more difficult than if the customer was not using NDS for NT 2.0.

Novell officials brushed off the accusations. "We don't consider NDS for NT 2.0 to be a temporary fix," Sam DiStasio says. "We will be upgrading the product to tap into Active Directory so that users won't have any of the migration issues Microsoft outlines here."

Industry analysts say Microsoft was forced to raise the awareness of Active Directory on the eve of Novell's annual Brainshare user conference in Salt Lake City. There, CEO Eric Schmidt is supposed to roll out a comprehensive strategy for getting NDS in every corner of the corporate network. Novell is under severe market pressure to get NDS installed in as many NT shops as possible before Active Directory ships.

"I suppose there is some competitive play going on here, but we do think that customers planning for Windows 2000 need to know these things up front," says Peter Houston, the lead product manager for Windows 2000 in charge of Active Directory.

Syncing up standards

The Active Directory feature that Microsoft offered to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is called DirSync. This technology defines how changes in the directory data on one server are captured and then distributed to other directory servers. Microsoft plans to use DirSync for two-way synchronization between Active Directory, Exchange and NDS. Houston says several third-party vendors who ship directory synchronization today like Utah-based NetVision, have expressed interest in using DirSync.

Houston says Microsoft will not push DirSync as an alternative to the Lightweight Directory Update Protocol already before the IETF. "We merely want DirSync to be adopted as part of the overall replication standard," says Houston.

Better directory admin

Customers testing both the first and second beta version of Windows 2000 have complained about a lack of useful Active Directory deployment and management tools. To address that issue Microsoft has entered into agreements with Entevo, FastLane Technologies and Mission Critical Software to provide coordinated technical support services to Microsoft's enterprise customers. All three companies currently offer products that give administrators flexible management tools in Windows NT 4.0 environments and have utilities - like domain consolidation and directory modeling tools-that will help customers migrate to Active Directory.

Feedback

Tell us your thoughts on this article or the issues raised in it. We'll cc: the author and editors on all comments.

Comments:

Name:
E-mail address:

Can we post your comments in an online forum on the topic?
Yes No

What did you think of this article?
Very useful Somewhat useful Not at all useful

Would you want to see:
More articles on this topic
Fewer articles on this topic

Thank you! When you click Submit, you'll be taken back to this article.

Tell us your thoughts on this article or the issues it raises.

Contact Senior Editor Christine Burns

Microsoft Publishes Open Directory-Synchronization Interface
From Microsoft.

Comparing Microsoft Active Directory and Novell's NDS
Microsoft's take.

The NDS Advantage Comparing to Active Directory
Novell's answer.

Entevo, NetVision upgrade directory management for Windows 2000
Network World Fusion, 3/3/99.

Novell house divided over NDS for NT giveaway
Network World, 3/15/99.

Reaction - Here's what some Fusion users have said about this article:

What do you think? Jump into the discussion and add your thoughts.