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Maryann Karinch
The Open Group
+1 650 726 7020

Directory Plugfest Features Tests of Interoperability for Nine Vendors

Tests Included DSML as well as LDAP

San Francisco, CA – February 5, 2003 – With nine suppliers of products using Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) participating, The Open Group has announced the successful completion of three days of testing for directory interoperability. Concluding January 31, all participants connected to each others’ equipment via a local network, with some participants connecting remotely via the Internet. This was the first Directory Plugfest with remote participation. The event occurred at the Hyatt Regency, San Francisco Airport.

Directory vendors Computer Associates, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Nexor, Novell, The OpenLDAP Project, Oracle, and Sun participated in the event.

“The Open Group’s members have made it clear that directory interoperability continues to be a core part of our mission,” said Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group. “The Open Group is pleased to sponsor the Directory Plugfest to give vendors a confidential forum to achieve the interoperability of LDAP directories and applications with the goal of achieving The Open Group certification.”

Directories that support the IETF’s LDAP version 3 were tested in accordance with pre-defined scripts, but the event also included informal ad-hoc testing. In addition, tests covered client applications that use LDAP v3. Features tests included basic LDAP features plus newer ones such as Transport Layer Security (TLS).

“We also tested DSML v2,” noted Dr. Christopher J. Harding, Executive Director of The Open Group’s Directory Interoperability Forum. Directory Services Markup Language (DSML) is an XML-based language defined by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). Version 2 can be used to make directory requests similar to those of LDAP.

“The results of this Plugfest indicate that DSML implementation is well advanced; there are some products already, and customers will soon have a number of DSML servers to choose from,” added Harding. Testing followed a set of DSML test scenarios that The Open Group is developing and that it will place in the public domain.

Value of Tests to Vendors

Computer Associates (www.cai.com)
“Directory interoperability is a fundamental requirement for the future of flexible, secure and easily aggregated web services," said Bilhar Mann, CA Director of eTrust Identity & Access Management. "We commend the Open Group for the leadership it has shown in ensuring this critical operability, and we again pledge our commitment to robust implementation of key standards -- including LDAP, UDDI and DSML.”

Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com)
“The Open Group's Directory Plugfest event is a great example of how the IT
industry is evolving to meet its customers’ needs," said Donald Jenkins,
Vice President, Operating Environments Marketing at HP. “HP is pleased to participate
in the Plugfest and work together with other vendors to test the interoperability of our LDAP and DSML solutions in order to provide the most choice and flexibility for enterprise customers.”

IBM (www.ibm.com/us)
John McGarvey, Architect, IBM Directory Products stated: "IBM is pleased to participate in the latest Open Group directory Plugfest, and to test the LDAP and DSML v2 interoperability of our directory server with servers and applications from the other participating vendors. We strongly support the goal of directory interoperability, and this event helps to make it real."

Nexor (www.nexor.com)
Ed Harrington, VP Product Strategy, Nexor commented. “Opportunities like the Plugfest provide Nexor with an excellent platform to test and verify on-going enhancements to our LDAP and DSML solutions. We are especially pleased with the initial results of our DSML v2 interoperability testing and look forward to further collaboration as we move forward.”

Novell (www.novell.com)
“The Open Group Directory Plugfest provided an impressive venue for vendors to work together to improve the interoperability of our customers’ business systems,” said Winston Bumpus, director of standards at Novell. "We are pleased with the results of the event, and specifically our LDAP and DSML interoperability capabilities that were demonstrated alongside many of the industry's leading directory vendors. Novell will continue to support open standards as part of our commitment to our one Net vision.”

The OpenLDAP Project (www.openldap.org)
Kurt Zeilenga, Chief Architect of the OpenLDAP Project and Standards Area Directory for the Directory Interoperability Forum, says “The Plugfest provides a unique opportunity for LDAP implementers to ensure their products interoperate. Additionally, the Plugfest provides feedback to the standardization community on possible improvements to the LDAP and X.500 technical specifications.”

Oracle Corp. (www.oracle.com)
“Oracle is pleased to participate in The Open Group’s Directory Plug Fest,” said John H. Heimann, Director, Server Platform Technology at Oracle. “Interoperability and standards compliance are important to Oracle customers. Oracle Internet Directory is central to Oracle’s identity management infrastructure for databases, application servers, and applications. This testing allows us to verify the suitability of that infrastructure for supporting a variety of enterprise deployments.”

Sun Microsystems (www.sun.com)
“Interoperability through open standards is extremely important to enable customers to extract maximum value from their IT infrastructure,” said Andy Eliopoulos, Director of Marketing and Business, Sun Microsystems. “That is why Sun is participating in The Open Group Plugfest and why we have native support for DSMLv2 in the upcoming Sun ONE Directory Server 5.2.”

About The Open Group

The Open Group, a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, has a vision of Boundaryless Information Flow achieved through global interoperability in a secure, reliable and timely manner. The Open Group’s mission is to drive the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow by working with customers to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies, and share best practices; working with suppliers, consortia and standards bodies to develop consensus and facilitate interoperability, to evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; offering a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and developing and operating the industry's premier certification service and encouraging procurement of certified products.