Red Hat to open-source Netscape Directory

Leading Linux vendor, Red Hat, is expected to open source the Netscape Directory technology it acquired last September on the first day of its summit conference in New Orleans on June 1st.  As Microsoft Watch reports, Netscape Directory Services (NDS) will be renamed Red Hat Directory Server and the code will be released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). That means anyone will be able to use, modify and redistribute the software. This is good news for organizations running Linux who now will have an alternative to the leading open-source directory software, OpenLDAP.

Microsoft's Active Directory will barely feel a sting. According to Robert Frances Group analyst Stacey Quandt:

The acquisition of the AOL Netscape Directory server and Netscape Certificate Management System  broadens Red Hat's open source architecture offering and provides customers with an open source alternative to Novell's eDirectory...Red Hat is directly targeting Novell and its combination of open source and proprietary solutions.

The company is slated to provide details about the LDAP-based directory next week.

Directory services are cirtical for businesses to mange identity and security information. They provide a single database for storing information about the network and network based resources such as users, servers, files, printers, etc.

Update 6/01/05: CNET News.com on the annoucement; and here's NewsForge's take on the first day of Red Hat's conference.