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Breaking News - Security:

Novell Automates ID-based Mgmt W/ Policy-based Provisioning

Novell announced the availability of Novell File System Factory 1.2 to automate the provisioning and management of user and group storage by leveraging identity information and policies.

With File System Factory, IT administrators can effortlessly meet the storage demands of their organization while reducing hardware and support costs. Novell File System Factory 1.2 is currently available on Novell NetWare, and future releases will support Windows and Linux to help customers upgrade servers and migrate from Windows to Linux. Novell File System Factory expands the provisioning capabilities of Novell Nsure through the automation and management of storage on networks with dynamic user communities using the policies and roles defined in Novell eDirectory. When a user or group is created in the directory, File System Factory verifies the relevant management policies and automatically allocates a designated amount of personal or group storage space on the correct server. Likewise, if users move in the directory their data automatically follows them, and as users leave the network, File System Factory can delete their stored data in a specified time period or transfer it to a manager.

"With the amount of user data skyrocketing, the ability to migrate it to a different server reduces the frequency with which I need to do server upgrades," said George A. Raetzke, senior systems programmer for Northern Illinois University. "File System Factory frees us from maintaining a lot of custom account management code, and I have been able to migrate tens of thousands of users during the day without impacting their access or productivity."

With File System Factory, the creation and management of storage can also be integrated with an identity provisioning solution for further automation and control. This allows organizations to use provisioning technologies like Novell Nsure Identity Manager in concert with File System Factory to manage personal and group storage based on a user's identity and role throughout the lifecycle of their relationship with the organization.

"Network storage is fundamental to the productivity of every user within an organization. Yet, providing and maintaining that storage for users can become quite a headache for administrators who are trying to keep up with employee turnover and the growing need for more storage space," said Alan Nugent, Novell CTO. "With File System Factory, Novell is extending the benefits of its provisioning solution beyond managing security to managing storage resources based on a strong identity foundation."