Quest Software announced today the availability of Vintela Authentication Services 3.0. The new version advances cross-platform integration in several key areas. Vintela Authentication Services 3.0 provides native single sign-on for packaged and custom applications, as well as enhanced reporting on access to system resources. The product also eases migration off NIS or other Unix authentication mechanisms by eliminating the requirement to reconcile multiple user identities when moving to Active Directory.

Further progress toward single sign-on

Quest reports that the 2005 aquisition, Vintela, was the first to offer native Active Directory-based single sign-on across Windows and Unix/Linux platforms. Now Quest extends this capability to provide single sign-on for applications. Previously, users on Windows operating systems would have to enter additional user IDs and passwords to access some applications running on Unix or Linux servers. Now, with Vintela Authentication Services 3.0, SAP- or DB2-based applications running on Unix or Linux servers can accept a user’s credential from Active Directory, reducing the need for additional logins, streamlining the user experience and increasing heterogeneous system security, ROI and compliance.

To further expand the single sign-on experience, Vintela Authentication Services 3.0 also includes a new application programming interface (API) for use by customers, systems integrators and custom software developers. The new API offers Unix and Linux connection points and common functions that can be used to create LDAP-based single sign-on opportunities beyond the packaged applications natively supported by Vintela Authentication Services.

"Vintela Authentication Services was the easiest and best product we found for consolidating administration of Unix and Windows user accounts. It supports almost every Unix flavor, and the management utilities fit right into Microsoft's existing tools,” said Mike MacNeill, director of Technical Operations, Cross Country Healthcare Inc.