Unisys Announces TransIT 500 Release 9.0 With Support For Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Version 3

Business Wire, August 24, 1998

BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 1998--

Scalable, enterprise-class directory services software chosen by NASA

Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help manage the Deep Space Network

Unisys Corp. Monday announced TransIT 500 Enterprise Directory Server, release 9, an enterprise-class implementation of the X.500 standard for directory services.

New TransIT 500 features and LDAPv3 enhancements provide the performance and scalability required to support millions of users for both enterprise and Internet applications.

Features built into TransIT 500 make the software a useful component for mission-critical applications requiring enterprise-wide security, ease of use, performance, scalability, and administration of the directory from a single point. Such features include:

-- An embedded Oracle or Microsoft SQL*Server database management

system tailored specifically for use with TransIT 500

-- The ability to distribute the directory to multiple servers

throughout the enterprise

-- The ability to replicate or shadow portions of the directory to

multiple servers throughout the enterprise

-- Access control and authentication services including storage and

retrieval of X.509 certificates

-- Windows-based graphical administration, providing a single point

of configuration and management control over the entire directory

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) selected X.500 as the core technology component of its enterprise systems infrastructure. JPL required a reliable mechanism for tracking spacecraft flybys of planetary objects, organization names, electronic mail addresses and for managing small-to-medium sized data objects.

The architectural design of TransIT 500 and its ability to handle millions of entries allows JPL's Network Control Project to easily find spacecraft flybys that are mapped to specific files within a distributed file system.

JPL also uses TransIT 500 to integrate different security mechanisms, allowing a single identity to be assigned to each of JPL's personnel, as well as to individual programs and processes.

"The ability of X.500 to accommodate large amounts of data and users, combined with its support for industry standards, made it a logical choice to be part of the basic technology infrastructure at JPL," said Jeff Hildebrand chief technologist for JPL's Enterprise Information Service.

"With many planetary and Earth-orbiting missions launching in the next several years, we will need to manage information on spacecraft flybys. Our ability to locate the information quickly and relate it to appropriate spacecraft flybys is enhanced by the availability and reliability provided by TransIT 500."

TransIT 500 and web commerce

This release of TransIT 500 features full support for the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) version 3, the acknowledged standard for creating, populating, accessing and maintaining distributed Internet and intranet directories. Conformance to the LDAP standards provides applications and users with easy access to the enterprise directory information.

TransIT 500 release 9 includes authentication services for the storage and retrieval of X.509 certificates, a common mechanism for authenticating the identity of a website user. Used in electronic commerce, the X.509 certificate provides a reliable method of preventing fraud when conducting business over the Internet.

Examples of other LDAP-enabled software include applications management, network bandwidth management, workflow/process management, security applications, and the Netscape Communicator and Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers.

"TransIT 500 combines the advantages of enterprise-class X.500 software with the industry's standard technology for indexing information on Web servers," said Barry Keyes, program director, Unisys Computer Systems security programs.

"Because of its widespread acceptance and the dramatic increase in the number of users supported, LDAP-enabled X.500 directories are one of the innovations that will pave the way for large-scale commerce over the World Wide Web."

About Unisys

Unisys is an information technology solutions provider that has a portfolio of information services, technologies and third-party alliances needed to help clients capitalize on their information asset to enhance their competitiveness and responsiveness to customers.

Unisys expertise is founded on the strengths of three global businesses: Information Services, providing consulting, application solutions, systems integration and outsourcing; Computer Systems, providing industry-leading technologies; and Global Customer Services, delivering comprehensive services and products supporting distributed computing environments.

Access the Unisys home page on the World Wide Web -- http://www.unisys.com -- for further information.

Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corp. All other brands and products referenced herein are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Unisys

Steve Holzman, 215/986-5098