BindView tunes tools for Microsoft

HOUSTON - BindView this week will release tools for easing delegation and deployment tasks for those managing Microsoft Active Directory environments.

While bv-Admin for Windows 7.0 includes features for migrating to Windows 2000 and Active Directory, its focus is on making it easier to maintain Active Directory once it is in place. Microsoft's directory technology has been on the market for nearly three years but remains complex to set up and administer.

BindView's tools compete with similar offerings from Quest, NetIQ and Aelita, but all are finding this area a tough market, some experts say.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

HOUSTON - BindView this week will release tools for easing delegation and deployment tasks for those managing Microsoft Active Directory environments.

While bv-Admin for Windows 7.0 includes features for migrating to Windows 2000 and Active Directory, its focus is on making it easier to maintain Active Directory once it is in place. Microsoft's directory technology has been on the market for nearly three years but remains complex to set up and administer.

BindView's tools compete with similar offerings from Quest, NetIQ and Aelita, but all are finding this area a tough market, some experts say.

"BindView and the others have very necessary products, but given the economic downturn a lot of companies are bypassing these network management tools and trying to do this themselves, which is a mistake," says Laura DiDio, an analyst with The Yankee Group.

"They have a good product, but the support service could be worth its weight in gold," DiDio says.

BindView is adding approval-based administration that marries the action of adding, changing or deleting a user, group or resource to the directory with a workflow approval process. For example, an administrator can designate that a new user needs access to a certain database, but access controls in the directory will not be activated until the administrator of that database approves an account for the new user.

The feature sends an e-mail to whoever must approve the new user account. The e-mail contains a link to a Web page where the approval can be denied or granted, triggering an update in the directory or a notification that access has been denied.

BindView also has added a Dynamic Web Portal feature, which is geared toward delegating directory administration. The Web-based interface uses the delegation rules in Active Directory to create a customized view of directory information.

"A help desk worker doesn't need to see the directory's organizational units and all the sites [on the network], they just need to change passwords," says Carl Meadows, product manager for BindView. The bv-Admin software has had a Web-based interface but required use of scripting and APIs to personalize the interface.

BindView also has added support for migrating Windows NT to Windows .Net Server 2003, which is expected to ship in April. However, the software will not support migrations from Win 2000 to .Net Server 2003 until a future release. In addition, bv-Admin for Windows 7.0 is being offered as a 64-bit application that would run on the 64-bit version of .Net Server 2003.

BindView expects to ship bv-Admin for Windows 7.0 on Dec. 2. It is priced at $11.95 per user. The GPO module costs $6.05 per user.

Read more about infrastructure management in Network World's Infrastructure Management section.