They have user IDs in Active Directory now, so they have simplified things somewhat. Now they want a full Kerberos infrastructure with smartcards for their Unix systems. With VAS version 3.0, we are now providing a complete NIS replacement including migration with a full set of tools.

They're built around a simplified view of an end-user project cycle.

We had a case where an important user account came up missing?the account was not in the directory. We immediately took action and restored the account, and I was able to go back and see that it was a mistake made by a particular administrator. It's nice not to have any mystery about who is making changes to the system.

The notion is to [unify] Active Directory, which is about as ubiquitous as it gets, and use it more strategically. It will spur use of [these features].

From what I have seen so far of the Windows 2000 beta, calling Active Directory a directory in the same sense that NDS is a directory is ludicrous.

From what I have seen so far of the Windows 2000 beta, calling Active Directory a directory in the same sense that NDS is a directory is ludicrous,