Simple Sign-On Frequently Asked Questions

General Information [ click to view ]

What major features compose the Version3 Simple Sign-On product? Identity Management: Manages application logon information, eliminating annoying application logon processes. Connection Management: Manages connections to network server shared folders and shared printers. Application Publisher: Manages the publishing of application icons to any location on the user's desktop. Application Monitor: Monitors application usage and processes pre-described events based on that application usage. Does Simple Sign-On require any additional hardware? Simple Sign-On requires NO additional hardware. Simply install the Simple Sign-On server component on any domain controller on your active directory domain. How is Simple Sign-On licensed? Simple Sign-On is licensed by on enabled active directory user accounts. License is only necessary for users that are enabled, not for every user in your active directory domain. Is there any software that must be installed on the workstation? Yes. There is a single MSI installation file that must be installed on the clients. This file can be installed using a multitude of installation methods such as group policies, scripts, or manually. What clients are supported when using Simple Sign-On? Simple Sign-On requires either Windows 2000 or Windows XP on the desktop. Windows98/ME/NT4 are supported with limited functionality and require additional software from Version3. Please contact Version3 for updates regarding these clients. Does Version3 provide any assistance in setup of Simple Sign-On? Version3 will provide assistance to customers of Simple Sign-On either directly or preferably through our reseller channel.

Identity Management

What applications can I use to manage logon processes? Any windows, internet, or extranet application can be managed by Simple Sign-On. Do I have to know complex scripting languages to control application logons? No. The application recorder that is provided with Simple Sign-On can be utilized to define the responses required to handle application logon processes. Can I use a card reader or other physical devices to allow access to applications? Yes. Simple Sign-On provides for a features call Secondary Authentication that allows for card readers and other devices to allow access to applications. The secondary authentication can be defined per application or per user. What scripting language can be used for processing the logon sequence for applications? By default, VB Script and Jscript are installed. Other scripting languages such as Perl can also be installed. Does Simple Sign-On require the same name and password for all applications such as those that do password synchronization? No. Simple Sign-On does NOT do password synchronization, but instead uses active directory to store the original name and password for the applications to be managed.

Connection Management

What is Connection Management? Connection Management is a component of Simple Sign-On that allows an administrator to control network drive mappings and manage connections to network shared printers. This eliminates many reasons for complex scripting tools. How does Simple Sign-On manage network printers? Simple Sign-On provides the ability to assign printers shared from a server to users based on the user account, a connection group, or a workstation object. Do I still have to install print drivers manually? No. Simple Sign-On will connect to the network share and download the printer driver from the server. What if my network print drive requires administrative rights to install, can Simple Sign-On still install it for my users? Yes, Simple Sign-On can be configured to use an administrative account to utilize when downloading printer drivers. Can Simple Sign-On install printer drivers for locally attached printers? Yes. Simple Sign-On can be configured to use an unattended installation of the printer drivers and install those drivers upon user logon.

Application Publishing

What is Application Publishing? Application publishing is simply the placing of application shortcuts or icons on the user's desktop or startmenu. These applications can be standard non-managed applications such as your word processor or an icon for a website or they can be for managed applications. What is a managed application? A managed application is one in which the logon process for the application is controlled by Simple Sign-On. This could be for purposes of passing logon names and passwords or simply eliminating the process for loading the application. How does Simple Sign-On determine what users receive published applications? Simple Sign-On determines what users receive application icons based on two main criteria. A user must belong to the application group or a group that belongs to the application group and the application must exist on the users desktop or on a server that the user has access. Does Simple Sign-On remove icons from users that no longer have permissions to use an application? Yes. Simple Sign-On will remove any existing icons that were previously created by Simple Sign-On if the user no longer has permissions to use that application. How does Simple Sign-On check for existence of the application? Simple Sign-On checks for existence of applications based on the target application file such as an .exe file. If the file used to launch the application is not available, the icon will not be built. As a secondary form of controlling what application icon is built, Simple Sign-On will also check for existence of the icon defined for the application. If the icon is not found, again the application icon will not be created. Where can Simple Sign-On place application icons? Application icons can be placed anywhere on the user's desktop. This could be in the start menu, on the desktop, or anywhere desired.

Application Monitor

What is the Application Monitor? The application monitor is a tool that allows the administrator to monitor the user's desktop for pre-defined events. What type of events can be monitored by the application monitor? The application monitor can monitor an unlimited number of events. These range from applications loading, processes, printers, or wmi events. Where does the application monitor reside? The application monitor loads on the desktop and resides in the system tray. Can the application monitor be tailored for my environment? The application monitor can be tailored for basically any environment.