The Apache Software Foundation is Latest Technology Leader to Embrace LDAP Standard and Achieve Open Group Certification

1 January 1970

The Open Group, a vendor- and technology-neutral consortium focused on open standards and global interoperability within and between enterprises, today announced that The Apache Software Foundation is the latest to embrace the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) standard and receive The Open Group certification for The Apache Software Foundation's Directory Server (ApacheDS 1.0) as Compliant to the LDAP Certified V2 Product Standard. This LDAP certification is part of The Open Brand, a register of Open Group certified products which can be associated with and used in relation to IT systems that have been registered with The Open Group as being fully conformant to one or more specific product standards.

The Open Group LDAP Certified program was defined by The Open Group's Directory Interoperability Forum, now part of the Identity Management Forum. This certification signifies guaranteed conformance of directory servers to Version 3 of LDAP. The certification program benefits both customers and vendors by providing assurance of conformance and interoperability and reducing the costs and risks of getting certified. Under the program, vendors guarantee conformance to product standards. This guarantee ensures that products conform to a specification, remain conformant throughout the life of the product's registration, and any non-conformance will be promptly fixed.

ApacheDS 1.0 was recently certified by The Open Group as compliant to the LDAP Certified V2 product standard and is the first certified Open Source implementation of the LDAP product standard. Apache's product is implemented in the Java(TM) 2 Standard Edition 5.0 software environment. This certification for The Apache Software Foundation's Directory Server adds to the LDAP certified directory implementations available for the key open source environments, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux(R) and SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise Server; for the standard UNIX(R) system environments AIX(TM), HP-UX(R), and Solaris(TM); and for vendor-specific environments, Microsoft Windows(R) and NetWare(R).

"ApacheDS 1.0 is a significant release in several respects, but most importantly it has been certified by the Open Group as a compliant LDAP V3 server," said Alex Karasulu, officer and vice president of The Apache Directory, The Apache Software Foundation. "Thanks to The Open Group, the Apache Directory Team was able to certify ApacheDS 1.0. We believe this certification will prove attractive to our users while setting our project apart from other non-certified LDAP projects in the market."

"This certification and the fact that LDAP certified directory implementations are now in multiple platforms demonstrates the growing value of LDAP as the standard directory access protocol, while increasing the choice of certified implementations available to customers," said Dr. Chris Harding, forum director for SOA and semantic interoperability, The Open Group. "The Open Group is pleased to see ongoing interest in certification for this proven, stable standard, with The Apache Software Foundation being the latest to achieve certification and join the ranks of other leading IT solution providers."

"LDAP conformance is about business enablement. Organizations are striving to provide better services to their customers in such a way that is flexible and improves business agility," said Eric Ross, director of product management, CA. "Open standards facilitates this by allowing organizations to easily integrate directory applications using off the shelf products."

"Directories are critical infrastructure components. Novell welcomes the addition of the Apache Directory Server to the family of certified LDAP directories," said Alan Clark, strategic advisor for industry initiatives and standards, Office of the CTO, Linux and Platforms Group, Novell. "As a longtime leader in directory technology, Novell played a key role in helping to establish the LDAP certification and was quick to certify Novell eDirectory's LDAP server. The development of standards-based LDAP directory servers like the Apache Directory Server will help deliver flexibility for customers, ensuring compatibility with other open systems."

About The Open Group

The Open Group is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, which drives the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow(TM) that will enable access to integrated information within and between enterprises based on open standards and global interoperability. The Open Group works with customers, suppliers, consortia and other standard bodies. Its role is to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies and share best practices; to facilitate interoperability, develop consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; to offer a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and to operate the industry's premier certification service. Further information on The Open Group can be found at http://www.opengroup.org .

NOTE: Boundaryless Information Flow and TOGAF are trademarks of The Open Group. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the US and other countries.

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Source: prnewswire

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