  External Authentication? (Novell, customized) 
 The Question is:
 
Following up on a question asked in December 1999...The previous poster asked
 about using NDS for authentication and got this response:
 
&gt; OpenVMS only currently (V7.1 and later) supports external authentication
&gt; in a LAN Manager Environment.  External authentication with other
&gt;  environments -- either via a user-accessable programming interface, or
&gt;  via a supported package that uses the interface -- is expected to be
&gt;  available in the OpenVMS V7.3 release.
 
Will external authentication use Novell's SSO product, a Compaq product,
 something else...? Are any updates available on this issue?
 
 
 The Answer is:
  External Authentication will provide a programmable interface,
  permitting customization for the required scheme.  Base features
  are expected to be present in V7.3, with an early adopter's kit made
  available to experiment with these features after the V7.3 release.
 
  Compaq uses earlier versions of this interface to provide
  support for LAN Manager (in V7.1 and later).
 
  Compaq is considering providing support for Kerberos V5 authentication,
  and will be assisting other vendors who sign up to make use of the
  early adopter's kit for their own authentication mechanisms.
 
  The OpenVMS Wizard is not in a position to discuss business plans of
  other vendors who might be providing authentication mechanisms, as
  those vendors expect information they share to be treated confidentially.
