Access control and identity management firm Centrify has unveiled what it claims to be the first platform to offer Microsoft Active Directory-based authentication and access control to over 100 versions of Unix, Linux and Mac OS.

The latest release of Centrify DirectControl adds over 25 new supported versions of Unix and Linux, includes enhanced Group Policy-based Apple Mac OS X desktop lockdown capabilities, and delivers the ability to leverage Group Policy to enable bulk configuration of distributed OpenSSH deployments.

DirectControl allows users to secure and streamline their heterogeneous environments by centralising identity and policy management within their existing Microsoft Active Directory infrastructure.

"By extending its authentication and access control to the widest range of non-Microsoft operating systems, Centrify has made Microsoft Active Directory an appealing directory in which to centralise identity management in a multi-platform environment," said Jon Oltsik, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group.

Centrify DirectControl effectively turns a non-Microsoft server, workstation or device into an Active Directory client, enabling an organisation to secure that system using the same authentication, access control and Group Policy services currently deployed for its Windows systems.

DirectControl supports popular Linux distributions such Red Hat Linux, Novell SUSE Linux, Fedora Core and Debian Linux, as well as popular Unix platforms such as Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, HP HP-UX, and Silicon Graphics IRIX, plus VMware ESX and Mac OS X.