Novell Identity Vision: Defining your Identity Fabric
Novell envisions identity as active, manageable, pervasive and vendor agnostic. Just as the network fabric has become a fundamental part of modern networks, so too must identity have its own domain an identity fabric. And just as the network fabric has the IP packet and IP address, so too must an identity fabric have an active element and addressing scheme. This identity fabric overlays the network fabric, extending role-based access control (RBAC), policy and compliance monitoring throughout a network environment. Wherever the network fabric is found, there will also be the identity fabric providing ubiquitous and transparent identity across the enterprise.
This fabric is the infrastructure that provides a comprehensive mechanism for asserting, using, monitoring and terminating an identity. Without it, only point solutions can be deployed, creating silos of functionality and information and hampering universal regulatory compliance†, reporting and remediation.
Further, an identity fabric enables the full integration of disparate identity-based systems. For example, when business systems must be integrated because of a merger or an acquisition, conflicts in the use of identity generally arise. Even if the companies use the same types of business systems, the context and use of identity will most likely be different. Either the environments must continue to operate independently (which hampers compliance reporting and other things) or they must be integrated. Deploying an identity fabric over your network fabric is the best way to integrate disparate environments and ensure uniform and consistent identity use. Learn More +
