 |
Download White Paper
Mac OS X Access to Microsoft Network Storage—Simplified through Kanaka
Whether it’s the unparalleled innovation, the unique capabilities for developing multimedia, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in education, employee choice in workstation device, or a variety of other reasons, the Apple Mac has made a strong reemergence in educational and enterprise organizations.
Many of these organizations are running Microsoft networks, and configuring these Macs so that users can log in and mount not only their network user home folder, but all of the collaborative storage folders of the groups of which they are members can be challenging.
These collaborative storage folders tend to be dispersed among different servers, so mounting, for example, the collaborative storage folders of the four groups of which a user is a member, could require that the Mac user log in to four different servers with four different passwords.
Then there are the limitations of logging in. Apple does not develop a Mac client for Active Directory, so many organizations use Apple’s Active Directory plug-in, which they oftentimes find limiting and non-conducive to their mobile computing needs.
Finally, there are the configuration challenges. Most Mac access solutions for Microsoft networks require that each Mac be bound to the Active Directory domain. With a large number of Macs in an organization, visiting each Mac to do the binding configuration can be time consuming. Moreover, whenever Apple releases a new update to Mac OS X, there is always the possibility of disruption, requiring a follow-up visit to each Mac to reconfigure it.
Seeing no adequate solution for solving all of these challenges, Condrey Corporation set out to solve them by developing Kanaka for Active Directory—a solution that provides Mac OS X users single login access to Microsoft network home directory and collaborative storage resources in Active Directory.
As an identity-based product, Kanaka for Active Directory utilizes Microsoft Active Directory to view network user and collaborative storage attributes that pertain to a user and then mounts the storage resources accordingly.
Kanaka brings together native Mac OS X technology, standard Active Directory authentication, and Microsoft File systems. Kanaka communicates with Active Directory to perform user authentication and retrieve identity information in order to automatically mount both user home folders and collaborative storage resources located on Microsoft servers via the SMB protocol.
Users can authenticate and access Microsoft network storage through either the Kanaka Plug-in, or the Kanaka Desktop Client.
The Kanaka Plug-in simplifies authentication to Active Directory along with access to a user’s network home folder and collaborative storage through a single password login process. Users simply enter valid Active Directory credentials via the Mac OS X login window. As an identity-based product, Kanaka utilizes Microsoft Active Directory to view network user and collaborative storage attributes that pertain to a user and then mounts the storage resources accordingly.
The Kanaka Desktop Client was developed for users who require access to network storage resources, but are not required to authenticate to Active Directory each time they log in to Mac OS X. The process for authenticating to Active Directory begins with entering the Active Directory username and password in the Kanaka Desktop Client login window. From there, the process of mounting the user’s network home folder and collaborative storage folders follows the same process as the Kanaka plug-in.
A simple illustration of how Kanaka for Active Directory works. A user logs in with a single Active Directory password through one of two login interfaces. From there, Kanaka for Active Directory works with the permissions associated with the user in Active Directory to determine home folder and collaborative storage resources it should mount for the user. Kanaka for Active Directory then mounts the storage either on the Mac OS X Dock or in the Finder.
The Kanaka Engine can be hosted on a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and later, or Microsoft Windows 7 workstation.
Kanaka for Active Directory’s unique approach to providing Macintosh OS X workstation users automated single login access to Microsoft Active Directory storage resources introduces an extensive set of features and benefits unavailable in other products or custom-integrated solutions.
Features
- Single login access to eDirectory storage resources
- Flexible login options
- Plug-in authentication and access option
- Client authentication and access option
- Apple Mobile Account support
- Plug-in Console for viewing and managing identity configurations
- No Active Directory schema extension required
Benefits
- Access to network storage areas—even if they are dispersed among various server shares—are accessed through a single username and password in the Login Window (Kanaka Plug-in option) or client dialog box (Kanaka Desktop Client option).
- Depending on how the user wants to access Active Directory storage resources, the Kanaka user can authenticate during workstation login or later through a client login process.
- The Kanaka Plug-in mounts Active Directory storage resources following workstation login in the Login Window.
- The Kanaka Desktop Client mounts Active Directory storage resources following client login.
- Allows for mobile access of network storage areas. Improves login access times and synchronizes storage content between the network home folder and a cloned home folder on the Mac hard drive, making access to network stored content available even when you cannot get on the network.
- Plug-in Console options let users view select user account information, monitor their storage quota, and change their Active Directory password.
- The Kanaka Engine and its approach to management, eliminates the need for the Active Directory schema be extended.
First introduced in 2005 for the Novell network platform, Kanaka quickly became the premier solution for Macintosh OS X users needing single login access to Novell eDirectory-based storage resources. Condrey Corporation is now pleased to offer the unique features and benefits of kanaka to Mac OS X users in Microsoft networks.
Q: Kanaka for Active Directory includes a Kanaka Plug-in and a Kanaka Desktop Client. What is the difference between the two?
A: A plug-in is something that the end user never sees. For example, a common plug in to Internet browsers is the Adobe Flash Plug-in. The Kanaka Plug-in provides authentication to Mac OS X through the native loginwindow interface. The Kanaka Desktop Client is an application that can be used to login and mount storage resources.
Q: Is Kanaka licensed according to the number of users or the number of machines?
A: Kanaka for Active Directory is licensed according the number of machines on which the Kanaka Plug-in or Kanaka Desktop Client is installed.
Q: What is the difference between subscription and Licensing + Maintenance for Kanaka for Active Directory?
A: Subscription means that the Kanaka software is enabled for one year and includes software maintenance, upgrade protection, and support. Near the end of the subscription cycle, you are notified of the need to renew the subscription in order to continue to use Kanaka. Unless the Kanaka subscription is renewed, Kanaka will be disabled 13 months after the date that the Kanaka licenses were issued.
Licensing + Maintenance means that the software license is purchased and owned by the purchaser. Maintenance, upgrade protection, and support are included during the first 12 months following the purchase of the licenses. To continue maintenance, upgrade protection, and support after the first 12 months, you must purchase a yearly Maintenance contract.
For more information on pricing and licensing, click here.
Q: Does Kanaka for Active Directory require that the Active Directory schema be extended?
A: Unlike some competitive Mac OS X authentication and access solutions for Active Directory, Kanaka for Active Directory does not require an Active Directory schema extension. This is the Kanaka Engine component manages all of the data that other solutions would manage in Active Directory.
Q: How is Kanaka installed?
A: All the components for Kanaka for Active Directory are located on the Kanaka-2.5.0.iso file. After downloading and mounting the ISO image, you can install the Kanaka Engine, Kanaka plug-in and/or Desktop Client through the HTML installation interface located in the HTML directory of the ISO.
Install using the 32- or 64-bit version of the Kanaka MSI file. Following its installation and initial configuration, the Kanaka Engine must be configured through its Web interface.
For procedures on these steps see the Kanaka for Active Directory Mac 2.5 Installation and Administration Guide.
Q: We currently have Kanaka for eDirectory running in our Novell network, but we’re planning to remove our Novell network and replace it with Microsoft. Is it possible to replace our current Kanaka licenses from one platform to another without purchasing new licenses altogether?
A: Condrey Corporation has a separate product SKU and licensing discounts for Kanaka customers who are changing from Kanaka for eDirectory to Kanaka for Active Directory. For details,
Kanaka for Active Directory Licensing Models
Kanaka for Active Directory pricing is based on the number of licensed machines on which either the Kanaka Plug-in or Kanaka Desktop Client is concurrently installed—as opposed to number of users. In support of customers requesting flexible purchasing options, Kanaka licenses are available through two models.
Licensing + Maintenance
Allows customers to purchase an initial license for the product and then pay a small fee each year for maintenance and upgrade protection beginning in Year 2. This licensing model allows customers to upgrade to new versions of the software at no additional cost during Year 1 and in successive years as long as Yearly Maintenance and Upgrade Protection is paid and kept current.
Subscription Licensing Model
Allows customers to purchase and use Kanaka licenses on a yearly basis. During the subscription period, customers will receive product updates and version upgrades at no additional charge. This licensing model allows use of the software during the subscription period only.
All licenses purchased are based on usage within a single production Active Directory domain in an organization. Significant discounts for multi-domain deployments are available upon request.
All additive licenses purchased for a given domain must be based on the same licensing model.
For a price quote, please contact Condrey Corporation Sales.
.
| Name | Download File |
File Size |
|---|---|---|
Kanaka for Active Directory Flyer |
 Kanaka 2.5 for AD flyer.pdf |
714 KB |
Kanaka for AD Install and Admin Guide |
5,143 KB |
|
Release Notes |
Kanaka for AD 2.5 Release Notes |
1 KB |
For a 30 Day Evaluation of Kanaka for Active Directory, download the latest distribution below. You will be given the opportunity during the installation to acquire a 30 Day license or you may click on the Kanaka License link below to obtain a license now.
Registered users may also download the latest version below. The same software distribution is used by both registered users and evaluation users.
Kanaka for Active Directory Evaluation License |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Day Kanaka for Active Directory Evaluation License | |||
Kanaka for Active Directory 2.5 Software and Documentation Novell OES 2 or Windows Hosted Engine |
File Size |
||
| Kanaka_2_5_0-AD-20110512 (MD5 checksum) | 5-12-2011 |
20 MB |
|
5-13-2010 |
1 KB |
||
| Kanaka v2.5 - Install and Admin Guide |
5-13-2011 |
5,143 K |
|
To receive a price quote or to make a purchase |
|
|---|---|
 Call us |
864-329-8528 option 2 |
 Send us an email with your request. |
|