DirectManage Integrates NDS With NT
May 17, 1999
By John Jerney
Ever wish you could manage your disparate domains and directory services from a single console? Entevo Corp.'s DirectManage suite could be the answer. This centralized management solution lets you administer multiple NT domains, Novell NDS and associated objects--users, groups and organizations--all from an Explorer-like window.
DirectManage displays objects in a hierarchical view organized by OUs (Organizational Units). The suite runs on Windows NT and consists of DirectManage Server (DMS), DirectAdmin, DirectAdmin NDS Plus Pack, DirectScript and DirectMigrate for NDS. I tested DMS and Direct Admin NDS Plus Pack.
I was impressed with DirectManage's success at melding the worlds of NT and NDS domain management into a single interface. This product is intuitive, easy to use and practically flawless.
DMS, the core of the DirectManage suite, stores information about the directory hierarchy and assigned roles. Roles are simply collections of tasks, such as CanCreateOU or CanChangePassword. DMS lets you manage your network by creating trustees, who are assigned roles in specific OUs. This simple but powerful concept lets you fine-tune your administrative structure, assigning an explicit level of authority to certain users without granting them complete administrative rights.
I tested a beta version of DirectManage in a heterogeneous environment consisting of multiple NT domains and an NDS-based network. Following installation, I used the DirectAdmin Server Configuration application--necessary for using the DirectAdmin NDS Plus Pack--to add the NT domains that I wanted to administer. Next I tested DirectAdmin NDS Plus Pack; it simplifies the task of creating a new role by displaying either all available tasks or the tasks in already established roles. Note that DirectAdmin NDS Plus Pack lets you assign roles only to trustees for global objects contained in an OU; you cannot assign roles for local objects, such as files and registry keys.
Once I launched DirectAdmin NDS Plus Pack, my NDS tree joined my NT domains as OU-level objects.
With DirectAdmin NDS Plus Pack, I assigned numerous built-in, product-defined roles to trustees. I also expanded the hierarchy by adding a "Development" OU for an engineering team and created a new role in the OU called "Team Leader." Right-clicking on a role and selecting Properties let me examine the tasks comprising that role, along with the trustees assigned to it.
Flexible Reporting Another helpful element of DirectAdmin NDS Plus Pack is the DirectAction Reports. With this feature's dialogue-based interface, you can create detailed reports about users, groups, trustees, roles and OUs with minimal effort. The best part: You can view and modify the properties of any of the objects displayed in the report. I tested this feature by displaying and then reactivating a list of users whose accounts had been disabled.
I also admired DirectAdmin NDS Plus Pack's unique ability to co-manage NT and NDS objects. You begin by mapping an NT OU to a corresponding NDS object. When you create, delete or modify an object (such as a user or group) within the mapped NT object, the system prompts you to confirm this action for a corresponding NDS object. I tested this functionality by mapping my newly created Development OU to an object of the same name in my NDS tree. All changes within the OU were reflected in NDS. Unfortunately, this is not a two-way feature; additions and deletions in the NDS tree are not propagated to the NT domains.
John Jerney is a partner in Volksware Inc., a Silicon Valley-based consulting firm specializing in Web design, engineering and technical communication. Send your comments on this article to him at jerney@volksware.com.
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