NetVision updates mgmt. suite
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OREM, UTAH - NetVision's latest Policy Management Suite goes beyond alerting network professionals about changes made to directories, file systems or operating systems to include real-time policy enforcement, which can trigger updates or correct changes that don't meet certain corporate standards.
The suite is a combination of NetVision's synchronization and alerting technology for directories and servers. Users must have Novell's eDirectory installed to run the suite, and the only file system supported at this time is NetWare. NetVision says it will add support for Windows NT/2000 by next summer.
The suite's real-time policy enforcement is based on a set of Visual Basic scripts that are triggered when a change or update is made to a directory, file server or operating system.
"The suite is predominantly targeted for Novell shops now, but it's a very creative product in that it's taken events and bolted it into scripting," says Gary Hein, an analyst with The Burton Group. "It's like stored procedures. Now instead of just trapping events that happen in the directory [or file system] you can add scripts that actually do something based on that event."
Hein says there is still some burden on IT personnel to write the Visual Basic scripts used for policy enforcement.
For example, if a user copies an MP3 audio file to a file server that has a policy against storing such file types, Policy Management Suite triggers a Visual Basic script that sends an alert to the user stating that he has violated policy, logs the incident and deletes the file.
The software also can be used for provisioning, such as granting access rights to a user who is added to a particular group in a directory, such as accounting. It also can revoke access rights when the same user is moved to another group, such as finance.
Policy Management Suite is a combination of NetVision's Synchronicity, DirectoryAlert and ServerAlert products, and its Global Event Services technology. The software includes Version 3.5 of each product.
Synchronicity is used to synchronize passwords and user accounts between Novell's eDirectory and other repositories of user data, including Novell's GroupWise; Microsoft's NT, Active Directory and Exchange; Lotus Domino; and iPlanet Directory Server. DirectoryAlert and ServerAlert report on changes to the directory, file system and operating system. Alerts can be sent via e-mail, Web page, database or pager.
Access 360 and Business Layers develop similar provisioning software.
"We are similar to provisioning systems," says Todd Lawson, president of NetVision. "But those systems are query-based and don't work in real time. They don't log who did changes and when."
To run the suite, users install NetVision's Global Events Service in eDirectory. Synchronicity and Directory Alert are installed as a service within each system that is tied to eDirectory. Server Alert is installed as a NetWare Loadable Module.
NetVision plans to release 30 templates for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a set of security policies for the healthcare industry. The company also is creating a security forum on its Web site for the exchange on Visual Basic scripts.
NetVision's Policy Management Suite is available now and is priced at $11 per user and $300 per monitored server.
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