While it's vital to have a directory service, it also matters which directory service you choose. Far more than just an LDAP store, Novell eDirectory is the basis for many of the world's largest identity-management deployments

Novell eDirectory is more than just a database—it is one of the only full-service directories offered in the industry that can support global replication, partitioning, hierarchies, small object size, establishing relationships to other objects, and is object-oriented. Directories based on relational databases can only provide specific data-mining functions and are limited to supporting only local replication

In its 8th version, eDirectory is the world's most proven, mature directory and has been more consistently honored with awards and recognition than any other directory in the market.

Only Novell eDirectory provides top-to-bottom business continuity assurances. eDirectory includes automated self-maintenance to catch and correct minor errors, as well as data replication to ensure always-on failover capabilities.

No other directory can match the scalability that Novell eDirectory offers: it has been publicly scaled to one billion identities. This means that as your customer's business grows, eDirectory can easily accommodate additional identities, without degrading performance.

SOLUTIONS

Streamlines identity management

• Directory-based identity control streamlines identity management to a 1:1 ratio of user and identity across organizational boundaries, applications and systems.
• Simplifies user's experience and reduces the administrative overhead by managing a single identity and source of authentication.
• "Once you can manage identities, you'll be much more effective at projecting that information to the rest of the business world." (The Burton Group)

Controls the network

• Centrally manage resources and services for all internal and Internet resources, including OSes (Novell Open Enterprise Server, NetWare®, Windows* 2000 / NT, UNIX* and Linux*); Web servers, (Apache*, iPlanet*, and IIS); and enterprise applications (PeopleSoft*, SAP*, Oracle, etc.).
• Control the network from a single administration point with granular policy-based management that allows the institution of varied access levels for users of applications, devices, and services on the network.
• Supports a full range of cryptographic paradigms, including Novell International Cryptographic Infrastructure, SSL, RAS private key/public key, Secure Authentication Services, smart cards and X.509v3 certification.

Keeps your options open

• Novell eDirectory is compatible with a host of open and emerging standards. It is LDAP Certified by The Open Group—signifying conformance to the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol version 3 (LDAP v3) standard.
• Novell eDirectory also supports Extensible Markup Language (XML), Directory Services Markup Language (DSML), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and many other open standards. This support helps organizations to maximize their technology investments and avoid getting "locked in" to any particular vendor's product set.

For more details log on to http://novell.com/products/edirectory