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Virtual Directories Take Hold: Page 3 of 5

Besides faster deployment and synchronization benefits, in comparison with metadirectories, virtual directories bring security efficiencies. They let companies work within the security parameters of existing directory and database apps rather than creating a new security model. The virtual directory also can act as a proxy to other apps. It can act as an identity firewall without forcing a company to invest in a federated ID-management product. A virtual directory lets companies re-architect how users view ID information without changing underlying apps. Although initial costs for virtual-directory software are comparable to metadirectory and custom-built products--typically about $50,000--the lower management and maintenance overhead makes it a cheaper alternative.

A practical application of a virtual-directory application would be to consolidate user data for an employee directory in a corporate portal. Portal information could be pulled from the human resources management system, an e-mail server, a knowledge-management application and CRM system, for instance.

Developer Roll Call

In June 2006, Safehaus Software Foundation launched Penrose 1.0, an open-source virtual-directory project. Penrose is a Java-based server that can run as a standalone application or as a back end for ApacheDS

(Apache Directory Server) or OpenLDAP. Although Penrose doesn't directly integrate with specific database applications--it uses JDBC--it is an open-source product with a plug-in architecture, so companies should be able to build their own connectors or find third-party connectors.