The Open Source Software Lab at Microsoft released at the beginning of May 2007, a document detailing Red Hat Linux Enterprise 4 and Windows Vista Ultimate Beta interoperability testing. Authored by Microsoft's Hank Janssen, Chris Rawlings, Sam Vaughan, the Windows Vista Beta/Linux IPsec Interop Testing "provides an overview of Linux IPsec solutions as well as detailed discussions on configuring IPsec-Tools for interoperability scenarios between Red Hat Linux Enterprise 4 and Windows Vista Ultimate Beta."

The Windows Vista Beta/Linux IPsec Interop Testing is a direct result of Microsoft's efforts to address interoperability issues between open source technologies and the solutions of the Redmond Company. This particular research is focused on delivering interoperability between Red Hat Linux Enterprise 4 and Windows Vista Ultimate Beta. Although the paper was completed before Windows Vista hit the shelves, Port 25, only mentioned on May 9, 2007.

"This document describes the configuration and testing of IPsec interoperability scenarios performed between Linux and Windows Vista at the Microsoft OSS Labs. It provides an overview of the available IPsec solutions in Linux, detailed walkthroughs on the configuration of IPsec-Tools in Linux, and the results and insights obtained from the testing. In addition to providing a record of the interoperability testing performed, a major focus of this document is to provide a resource to Windows IPsec experts that will allow them to successfully configure an IPsec connection in Linux using Ipsec-Tools," reveals a fragment of the research paper.

There were two additional goals to the research. One involved detecting and resolving potential problems impacting Windows Vista IPsec functionality and the other was associated with determining the level of IPsec interoperability between Linux and Vista. The paper will deliver a Linux IPsec overview, an insight on Authentication Testing Scenarios and Configuration and of course the tests results.