Centrify Express: Active Directory for Linux And Mac OS X

Written by Dave Courbanou 1
July 19, 2010

If you're an MSP managing a mix of computing platforms in your customer environments, you might want to look at Centrify Express. It offers free Active Directory integration for Linux and Macintosh computers. Here's some perspective.

If you’re an MSP managing a mix of computing platforms in your customer environments, you might want to look at Centrify Express. It offers free Active Directory integration for Linux and Macintosh computers. Here’s some perspective.

Centrify Express establishes a ‘single sign-on experience’ for all users in most major operating system environments — extending Active Directory integration to non-Windows users. Centrify labels Express as a cost-effective solution (it’s free) and claims that consolidating all machines into Active Directory is great for eliminating potential mis-authorization in private clouds, leading to unwanted security risks. Instead of shared credentials, Centrify Express allows for unique individual user IDs regardless of platform, using Microsoft’s existing infrastructure.

Centrify Express, the company says, comes with:

DirectControl Express: Enables Linux, UNIX and Mac OS X servers and workstations to participate in a Windows Active Directory domain and gives users Active Directory-based single sign-on.

DirectManage Express: Automates deployment and management activities by providing a central solution to discover non-Windows systems on a network

Centrify-Enabled Open Source Tools and Utilities: Allows for cross-platform connectivity and file sharing with Centrify-enabled versions of OpenSSH, PuTTY and Samba

Centrify notes that Centrify Express is a “sub-set” of the Centrify Suite. If you’re using Express, you can easily upgrade à la carte whatever features you’d need for non-Microsoft systems. Centfity also stresses their solution provides cross platform compliance and ease of use.

You can head over here to download Centrify DirectControl Express, DirectManage Express and Centrify-Enabled Open Source Tools and Utilities. It includes a non-expiring license, too.

Of course, Centrify isn’t alone in the directory services integration market. Likewise Software is perhaps the best-known provider of integration tools that like Mac OS X and Linux to Active Directory. And Likewise has OEM agreements with multiple Linux providers.

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