|
|
|
|
 |
Alan
Mark
Chief Security Strategist , Novell |
|
|
Excerpts
from an exclusive interview with Techieindex
|
|
|
|
1. Novell
is supposed to release the public beta of Novell BorderManager
3.8 in July, which will provides remote access and Internet
access control capabilities within Novell Nsure secure
identity management solutions. What are the proposed
enhancements on the widely deployed Novell BorderManager?
I've attached the official press release below. In a nutshell,
the enhancements are
- IPSec-based
- Authenticate against any LDAPv3 Directory Service
- Compatibility with IPSec Certified 3rd Parties
- ICSA Labs IPSec certification, FIPS 140 Validation
- Client Firewall
- Identity-based rules
- Web-based Management
2. Novell will release a version of
its networking software on Linux before the end of this year,
whereas it already has networking software for servers that
run Windows, Novell's NetWare and other operating systems. Why
did it too so long for Novell to jump on the Linux bandwagon?
Will all future releases from Novell also be released on
Linux?
Linux is a platform that we have already supported for a
couple of years. The specific BrainShare announcement was to
move NetWare services to Linux, allowing customers to use
those services in another way. Novell has supported Linux with
eDirectory, Account Management (ID sync), and Zenworks.
3. Do you think Linux has been the best
thing to happen to the development of operating Systems as a
technology or do you think only a software vendor with the
proven expertise and experience viz. Novell, Microsoft etc.
can work on future development of the OS?
Even though this isn't an area that I cover, I'll make a short
remark. Linux has helped open the door for application
development using open standards and tools. This has
benefitted Novell because we can write code once that will run
on many OSs that use open standards, such as Linux, Unix,
Solaris, and NetWare. Writing code in Java and using
cross-platform scripting has allowed us to efficiently create
mufti-platform code.
|
4.
Companies like TransUnion have redesigned and replaced the
core security infrastructure of their business with absolutely
no downtime using Novell Nsure Secure Identity Management
Solution. Could you elaborate on why it is popular despite
competitive products from IBM, Sun Microsystems and Microsoft?
Novell NSure products have been successful because we offer
several ways to create a solution. Over the decade, companies
and organizations have created a complex set of systems,
applications, and policies. Some of those systems and
applications are closed or difficult to integrate with others.
Policies are mostly found in written documents. We automate a
complex set of tasks to create relationships between people
and systems using policies from a myriad of sources.
NSure products take different approaches to integrating
operating systems, applications, directories, and people to
provide one cohesive management view using eDirectory. Other
vendors primarily have one approach.
5. What are Novell's future plans with
respect to enhancing on its core technology area? what other
technology areas are you looking at with respect to
complementing and supplementing on your existing range of
products?
I can only speak generally about Novell's future plans. We've
always been leading edge. In fact, most customers don't even
know about all of the features and technologies found in
NetWare 5.1 much less the forthcoming NetWare 6.5. Novell has
attempted to provide great value out of the box by allowing
customers to leverage existing technologies. That means we
want to minimize the interference to applications when we link
them to a central directory. When we manage desktops using
Zenworks, the user is unaware that his or her's entire
computing environment was enabled according to a set of
directory-based policies. And if that PC were to fail, a new
one could be created before the employee returned from lunch.
6. What is your role as a Chief Security
Strategist at Novell?
I act as a liaison between the customer and Novell' s product
management and engineering teams to help develop better
products. I present to customers on a variety of security
issues, and give their feedback to the proper team at Novell.
I travel extensively, so my customer base is global.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top |
|
|
