TOM KEMP'S CENTRIFY BLOG

SAP Certifies DirectControl for SAP on UNIX and Linux

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Recently I blogged about our DirectControl for SAP on UNIX and Linux, describing the features, benefits and reasons we brought this solution to market. Centrify DirectControl for SAP delivers secure single sign-on to SAP and centralized identity management by seamlessly integrating SAP on UNIX and Linux with Microsoft Active Directory. DirectControl for SAP is non-intrusive, easy to deploy and manage, and of course is fully supported by Centrify.

I am happy to report that as of last week, after working with SAP Waldorf and the SAP Integration and Certification Center (ICC), we have officially certified the integration of Centrify DirectControl for SAP on UNIX 4.1 with SAP Netweaver via BC-SNC 4.0.

The certification process is important for SAP and our joint customers. This certification shows DirectControl for SAP to be a secure, compatible, reliable solution for single sign-on and security of the SAP Netweaver product. We had to successfully pass 100s of automated and manual tests in the areas of single sign-on, message traffic security, RFC security and even secure printing.

Some of the other features the DirectControl for SAP solution provides include:

Kerberos based single sign-on for SAPgui for windows and Java
Best in class support for Active Directory integration from UNIX or Linux
Gold standard support for MIT Kerberos on UNIX or Linux
Secure the OS-level administrators as well as the SAP users with Active Directory
Zero maintenance, easy to deploy solution
Avoid sending unencrypted passwords from SAPgui across the network
Ensure data transmission integrity and detect tampering of inflight data
Provide data privacy by encrypting data on the network
SAP Logon shortcuts no longer use locally stored passwords
Support for SAP clusters and Logon Groups
Allow user to authenticate using stronger mechanisms like smart cards
Secure SAPrfc connections with and between SAP Application Servers
Secure SAPlpd connections with remote print servers
Secure SAPsprint connections with remote print servers
Secure ITS AGate Servers to SAP Application Servers
Centrally define and manage username and password policies
No PKI infrastructure required

For those who have further interest in the DirectControl for SAP on UNIX and Linux solution, there are several resources available. Corey Williams, the Director of Product Management for our application SSO solutions here at Centrify has delivered a great webinar on our SAP support. This is a good resource that is available for those who would like to see a demo, hear about the architecture or understand the features and benefits of the DirectControl for SAP solution. In addition we have a thorough whitepaper on our SAP SSO solution that describes the solution in much more detail.