Latest Version of Open Source Software Enables Easy — and Free —
Cross-Platform Authentication and Administration
Likewise Open Fall 08 enhances authentication and management of Linux, UNIX
and Mac-based systems
Bellevue, Wash. — July 30, 2008 — A new version of a free, open source
software application from Likewise Software enables administrators to
remotely and uniformly manage all network computers, regardless of their
operating systems, from a single point of control from virtually any
computer.
Likewise Software today announced Likewise Fall 08, which supports more
than 118 platforms. Building on the success of the current version, this
new edition includes features that further streamline the process of
integrating Linux, Unix and Mac systems into a Microsoft Active Directory
environment:
* Likewise Identity Services (LWIS) provides Active Directory
Authentication services for all non-Windows systems. LWIS is a next
generation Active Directory authentication engine that runs on 118+
non-Windows platforms including Linux/Unix/Mac. It is the cornerstone of
the Likewise architecture that provides a programmable, Windows
distributed-systems platform on non-Windows systems and comes with a full
implementation of the DCE/RPC framework with support for Kerberos, NTLM and
SPNEGO security protocols.
* The Likewise Administrative Console (LAC) allows administrators to manage
users, computers and access rights from a Linux, UNIX or Mac OS X-based
machine. LAC is a graphical management console built on the .NET platform
with a pluggable extension model. It currently ships with
several extensions including an Active Directory editor, a users and groups
manager, and an eventlog viewer.
LAC runs natively on any flavor of Linux that runs a graphical desktop
including Fedora, RedHat, SuSe Linux Desktop and SuSe Linux Enterprise,
Ubuntu Desktop and Ubuntu Server and all flavors of Mac OS X 10+ and
Windows. It also includes a Plug-in Software Development Kit that allows
third-party ISVs to write their own custom plug-ins.
* The Likewise event log daemon is a new event logging component that
stores authentication and security events on a local embedded database
engine. This enables IT staff to view and troubleshoot events on more
than 118 supported platforms, in a common, unified format that integrates
seamlessly in a heterogeneous environment. This full-fledged event log
subsystem is an analogue of the Windows event log subsystem and leverages
the LWIS architecture. Events are stored as structured data allowing for
easier interpretation. The event log RPC supports local or remote access
using secure, encrypted, protocols.
A list of all supported platforms is available at:
(http://www.likewisesoftware.com/products/likewise_enterprise/supported_platforms.php)
“Likewise Open continues to evolve into an extremely valuable tool thanks
to the contributions of an engaged open source community,” said Barry
Crist, chief executive officer of Likewise Software. “Our latest version
features a next generation authentication engine that makes the
administration of mixed networks even easier by allowing IT to manage
users, access rights and policies from any computer. We have seen
tremendous growth in the number of users and supporters of Likewise Open as
the agent is quickly becoming the de facto standard for secure
authentication in mixed network environments.”
Availability
Likewise Open Fall 08 will be available for download in August at
(http://www.likewisesoftware.com/)
* Licensing — in a continuing endorsement of its open source strategy,
Likewise Identity Services (LWIS) will be dual licensed as follows:
– under the Limited GPL 2.1 for client libraries and the GPL 2.1 for daemons
AND
– Likewise will also ensure that OEMs, VARs and other entities can license
LWIS under a proprietary license that gives them wide latitude and freedom
to commingle LWIS with their IP without compromising their own IP
About Likewise Software
Likewise Software provides identity management solutions designed to
improve security and operational efficiencies and help achieve regulatory
compliance in mixed network environments. Likewise Open allows large
organizations to securely authenticate Linux, UNIX and Mac systems with a
unified directory such as Microsoft Active Directory. Likewise Enterprise
includes all of the core authentication technology that comes with Likewise
Open, plus world-class migration, group policy, audit and reporting modules.
For more information, visit (http://www.likewisesoftware.com/)