Unix Personality Management

Unix Identity Integration Scenario: near term audit compliance requirement

Quest Authentication Services’ (formerly Vintela Authentication Services) Unix Personality Management enables Unix users to migrate disparate account namespaces (as in the case of merging multiple NIS domains) into Active Directory, while at the same time allowing for specification of different “Unix personalities” for the underlying AD account. A user may log on to one host and be associated with a locally-relevant set of attributes including user ID (UID), default shell, and home directory. When logging in to a different host (or set of hosts), a different set of attributes are associated with same AD account.

Longer term migration to a fully centralized Active Directory-based Unix authentication infrastructure, which allows for retirement of existing NIS, LDAP, or /etc/passwd files, can be accomplished using other migration and integration technologies provided by Authentication Services' patented technology on a project schedule relieved of the pressure of immediate compliance requirements.