ManageEngine Bolsters Password Sync Tool

December 9, 2014 Alex Woodie

A new release of ManageEngine‘s cross-platform password synchronization tool, ADSelfService Plus, should make it easier for administrators to ensure that native password changes made from Windows are propagated to all other supported systems, including IBM i.

ADSelfService Plus is a password management tool that does two things. First, it provides a Web-based interface where end users can reset their own passwords, as defined in Microsoft Windows Active Directory, which is the main repository of access control information for many companies (including IBM i shops).

Secondly, ADSelfService Plus contains a password sync component that will automatically propagate those Active Directory passwords out to other systems, including IBM i, HP-UX, Oracle‘s database and E-Business Suite, Microsoft Dynamics, Google Apps, Salesforce, Zendesk, and productivity apps by Zoho (ManageEngine’s parent company).

It all sounds great, right? Provide a Web interface to passwords stored in AD, then sync them out to everything else. The only problem with that approach, ManageEngine says, is that it doesn’t necessarily incorporate password changes made “natively,” using Windows interfaces. Problems arise if an administrator natively makes changes to a password using the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) console or an end user changes one using the “Ctrl+Alt+Del screen.”

The news here is that the new password sync agent in ADSelfService Plus ensures administrators that these native password changes are in sync with other associated IT systems and applications. The agent functions as a background service on a primary domain controller and constantly scans for password modifications in Active Directory. This means administrators no longer have to worry about catching these changes and updating the system manually.

“A lot of businesses rely on Active Directory credentials to establish user identities for other systems and applications,” says ManageEngine product manager Parthiban Paramsivam. “Those businesses have to ensure each password modification in Active Directory, whether native or Web-based, is reflected everywhere the password is used so that users have uninterrupted access to their systems and applications. Now, ADSelfService Plus lets administrators provide end users with a highly secure, instant and seamless password synchronization experience.”