The center of the organized networking universe.

Optimize your corporate network with directory management.

While many network managers have introduced directory services into their organizations, directory management hasn't always been deployed in tandem. However, managing corporate directories is essential in many business environments to assure optimal resource allocation, react effectively to changes, reduce costs, and provide a proactive approach to network administration.

Who, in particular, should be concerned with directory management? A number of organizations and personnel should, including:

* Large businesses generating millions of dynamic enterprise directory objects from hundreds of applications;

* IS staffs and departmental managers facing mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations;

* IS staffs and departmental managers executing Microsoft Exchange deployments;

* IS staffs modifying, upgrading, and optimizing networks in accordance with new executive mandates;

* Enterprises preparing to migrate to the Microsoft Windows 2000 environment; and

* Resellers and consultants coordinating enterprise networking systems that utilize directories.

Forward-thinking network managers focus on their network directories, consider their impact on resources, and optimize management of those directories.

SERVICES VS. DIRECTORY

In order to understand why a business might require and benefit from directory management, it's important to understand the differences between this technology and directory services. Directory services simplify key administration tasks such as user management, application security, and resource management by creating what is essentially a database (akin to a telephone book of addresses and information) for enterprise networks. Directory services products include: NTDS, Microsoft's current directory service for Windows NT; Active Directory, Microsoft's directory service for Windows 2000; NetWare Directory Services, Novell's directory service; and StreetTalk, Banyan's directory service.

Directory management, on the other hand, manages network directory objects and their attributes in multiple directories. Typical enterprise directory management tasks include delegation, domain management, reporting, security management, policy management, directory synchronization, migrations, and scripting.

Directory management lies at the center of the networking universe of various tasks, applications, and projects. This enables businesses to lower costs, control security, and increase efficiency by centralizing management of heterogeneous network-directory structures; automating routine management tasks; securing, standardizing, and optimizing networks; and troubleshooting.

The smaller the enterprise, however, the more limited directory management can be, relative to directory services. But technology industry analyst firm Forrester Research has estimated that the average Fortune 1000 company has more than 180 separate directories in its enterprise network. Clearly, the refinement of directory management is important to networks with such numerous directories.

Consider, also, the following example. Atypical Fortune 1000 firm with those 180, or more, directories might have 25,000 networked users with 20 system attributes each, creating about 500,000 objects to manage. If each user has 200 files, that creates an additional five million objects to manage. Directory management at this granular level then becomes much more critical than directory services for 180 directories at the higher surface level. Thus, directory services, while valuable, merely scratch the surface of addressing enterprise directory issues, while directory management addresses such issues on a vast scale.

DEVELOPING A STRATEGY

For businesses that wish to reap the benefits of directory management, development of clear strategies for this technology can determine what is required of custom programs and shrink-wrapped applications that facilitate effective directory management.

Effective directory management solutions for Windows NT and Microsoft Exchange networks, for example, should offer defined elements including:

* Functionality, allowing network managers to easily and securely delegate simple, repetitive administration tasks, within a domain or across multiple domains, to nonadministrators (such as help desk personnel fielding noncritical inquiries);

* A drag-and-drop interface to facilitate domain reconfigurations and consolidations, relieving managers from programming complexities to effect changes;

* A single interface enabling administrators to quickly generate customizable reports on Windows NT and Microsoft Exchange domains, directories, and networks;

* Historic reporting functionality for all domains and directories, providing useful and centralized information on current domain object states and the changes that have occurred to those objects; and

* A distributed architecture to reduce network traffic and increase processing speeds--critical attributes for larger deployments.

Directory management solutions with these attributes deliver numerous benefits. Costs remain minimal for automated domain reconfigurations and migrations, compared to the large costs resulting from tedious and time-consuming manual intervention. Costs remain minimal for automated delegation of accounts, compared to expensive Windows NT administrator resources expended setting up accounts for new users and closing unused accounts, for example. Domain restructuring within Windows NT 4.0 prepares for efficient Windows 2000 migrations. Determining domain and directory management strategies in advance provides opportunities to managers whose local knowledge is indispensable to the process for reorganizing workflow and human resources. In fact, these managers can also capitalize on scripting solutions that do not require vast programming skills. Lastly, modification of directory services through appropriate directory management creates new and lucrative markets for resellers.

CRITICAL COMPLEMENT

Directory services deployments provide value for enterprises grappling with the never-ending growth of their directories--the enterprise network telephone books that track and list numerous domain addresses of users, computer resources (such as networked printers), and applications. Managing directories for corporate networks is a critical IT task that yields numerous benefits.

Directory management, however, is a critical complement to directory services, allowing enterprises to address directory and domain issues more thoroughly at the granular object level. Such directory management enables enterprises to efficiently react to changes, reduce costs, and provide a proactive approach to network administration and projects such as Windows 2000 migrations, for example.

No matter which vendor's directory services solutions are deployed, enterprise directory growth is assured, generating millions of directory objects, and ensuring directory management will remain a critical complement for networked enterprises.

Millar is the product manager for FastLane Technologies, Inc., of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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