Q&A: IAM and the Unix/Linux Organization

There’s an article in Enterprise Systems with this title that I wanted to draw your attention to. The author, James Powell, spent some time talking to me about this topic and you can find my answers to his questions in his article. Basically, the article discusses how Unix/Linux systems needn't be islands of identity; the challenges and options for addressing authentication, provisioning, and security and we take a closer look at Active Directory bridge products.

Some of the questions we discussed include:

• What are some of the unique challenges Unix/Linux organizations face with identity and management (IAM)?
• What are the options to address those challenges?
• Can you explain the idea behind Active Directory bridge products? What are the benefits and drawbacks of such products?
• What makes these AD bridge solutions different from the native tools available through OS providers and open source options?
• With such a fundamental shift in IAM strategy with an AD bridge solution, what are some of the things organizations should look out for?
• How is this different from more “traditional” solutions (such as a metadirectory and synchronization)?
• Can you give some examples of where and how AD bridge technologies are used in the real world?
• What does Quest offer for Unix/Linux IAM?

So if you’re interested in any of these questions I’d invite you to take a closer look at James’ article.

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