3.1 Disconnected Support

Disconnected support allows the smart card to be used for a local workstation login when eDirectory™ isn't available. This is useful in situations where network connectivity isn't always available, such as for laptop users. After a connected eDirectory login, the disconnected functionality stores the local user name and password on the local machine for future disconnected logins. The local account password is encrypted with a 128‑bit AES key generated from the smart card private key. This means that a successful connected login must have occurred before disconnected functionality is available.

To perform a disconnected login, select the Novell Client™ Workstation only check box, then enter the local account name and smart card PIN. The previously stored local account information will be decrypted using the smart card and passed on to Windows for the workstation login.

Disconnected support works best in situations where the local account and eDirectory account names are synchronized. When the account names are synchronized, the user does not need to remember different names for connected (eDirectory) and disconnected (local workstation) logins.