Netscape Communication Corp has upgraded its Mission Control proxy server software (CI No 3,254), designed to enable centralized control of intranet and extranet security features as well as remote management and customization at client and now server level. Netscape claims the explosion of applications for corporate intranets has led to disparate and confusing methods for controlling security and says there is increasing demand for a flexible systems to control the entire security framework. The product, written entirely in Java, is designed to enable system administrators to assign security access to individuals or partners outside the company who might be working on joint projects such as extranets. Administrators will be able to control any particular user and the level of security assigned, to decide which documents on a particular can be edited and by whom. The new release incorporates elements of the existing Mission Control Desktop offering, married with features of its security and directory services systems, said the company. John Paul, senior vice president and general manager of Netscape’s server division claimed one of the key benefits of its system is that rather than using proprietary protocols, its software uses HTTP and the LDAP lightweight directory access protocol, to allow easier communication between servers. The company also announced a third party program for customers who want to integrate and embed the technology into their own applications, and signed up Hewlett Packard Co, Cabletron Systems Inc and Silicon Graphics Inc as its first licensees. Netscape said the new version of Mission Control would be packaged with SuiteSpot and all its existing server products from the first quarter of 1998.
