Short for directory enabled network, a type of network that is managed from a central location. A DEN stores information about its users, network resources and applications in a database so that its operation can be managed from a central point by the network administrator. Any user that has an identification in the network can use any resource on the network as long as it has been predetermined that that user has the access privileges. For example, a student at a school can log on to any computer in the school’s network and access the resources that have been made available to him, such as applications, documents and network drives. Since access privileges are based on the individual and not the device, another person can subsequently sit at that same computer and using his identification and password have access to different resources than the person before him.
Is Your Network Directory-Enabled? This article from CrossNodes describes how DEN offers the promise of a scalable, flexible, and controllable solution to the problem of expanding networks.
