Archive for June, 2008

The Big Bang Theory

Ok, heut mal etwas Spass :). Eine Serie, die man sich unbedingt reinziehen muss: The Big Bang Theory [1]. Die Erstausstrahnung ist schon 1/2 Jahr alt, na hoffentlich gibts noch ne 2. Season. Have Phun.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory_(TV_series)

jMonkey Engine: High performance scene graph based graphics API in Java

jME [1] (jMonkey Engine) is a high performance scene graph based graphics API. Much of the inspiration for jME comes from David Eberly’s book 3D Game Engine Design.

jME was built to fulfill the lack of full featured graphics engines written in Java. Using a abstraction layer, it allows any rendering system to be plugged in. Currently, LWJGL is supported with plans for JOGL support in the near future.

jME is completely open source under the BSD license. You are free to use jME in anyway you see fit, hobby or commercial. All we ask is a little footnote (donations are nice too.)

[1] http://www.jmonkeyengine.com/

SignServer: Application framework in Java performing cryptographic operations

The SignServer [1] is an application framework performing cryptographic operations for other applications. It’s intended to be used in environments where keys are supposed to be protected in hardware but there isn’t possible to connect such hardware to existing enterprise applications or where the operations are considered extra sensitive so the hardware have to protected more carefully. Another usage is to provide a simplified method to provide signatures in different application managed from one location in the company.

From version 3.0 there also exists a mail signer framework that can be used to perform cryptographic operation on emails.

The SignServer have a ready to use:

* TimeStamp Authority (RFC 3161 complaint)
* PDF Signer
* MRTD Signer
* Validation Service Framework
* Group Key Service Framework
* Simple Mail Signer

The SignServer have been designed for high-availability and can be clustered for maximum reliability.

Different kinds of sign tokens exist:

* Soft token using PKCS12 files.
* PKCS#11 HSM tokens, such as the Utimaco CryptoServer or nCipher nShield.
* PrimeCardHSM using smart cards.

[1] http://www.signserver.org/

EJBCA: Fully functional Certificate Authority in Java

EJBCA [1] is a fully functional Certificate Authority. Based on J2EE technology it constitutes a robust, high performance and component based CA. Both flexible and platform independent, EJBCA can be used standalone or integrated in any J2EE application.

EJBCA is an enterprise class PKI, meaning that you can use EJBCA to build a complete PKI infrastructure for your organisation. If you only want to issue a few single certificates for testing, there are probably options that will get you started quicker, but if you want a serious PKI we recommend EJBCA.

[1] http://ejbca.sourceforge.net/

Openfire: OpenSource Jabber Server in Java

Openfire [1] (formerly Wildfire) is a real time collaboration (RTC) server dual-licensed under the Open Source GPL and commercially. It uses the only widely adopted open protocol for instant messaging, XMPP (also called Jabber). Openfire is incredibly easy to setup and administer, but offers rock-solid security and performance.

[1] http://www.igniterealtime.org/projects/openfire/

Kommt ZFS und DTrace unter die GPL?

In einem Interview [1] mit Jan Murdock (Debiangründer, aktuell bei Sun angestellt) verrät er, dass Opensolaris unter die GPL gestellt werden soll. Was aber noch viel spannender ist, dass ZFS und DTrace ebenfalls GPL Software werden soll. Nice.

[1] http://www.golem.de/0806/60248-2.html