Task 5: Enabling Users
Objectives
The objectives of the Enabling Users task are:
- To enable the deployment of federated identity technology in European-wide production services, serving and used by research communities, that are based on NREN-operated authentication and authorization infrastructures (AAI), but go beyond basic turnkey use of eduGAIN.
- To select two substantial use cases from the research community which address complex issues blocking the use of federated identity and eduGAIN in a production environment, and collaborate with the affected communities to solve them, liaising with national identity federations as required.
- To support establishing a long-term collaborative effort between GÉANT and NRENs on one hand, and international research communities on the other, by providing on-going subject matter expertise in the area of federated identity and eduGAIN to a larger number of research communities outside the context of the two substantial use cases.
- To support NA4 in their key accounts relationship with international research communities by taking on referrals from them for consultancy.
- To develop documentation and information focussed on research community needs for AAI.
Additional information on the Enabling Users team can also be found on the eduGAIN Wiki Enabling Users page.
Work Plan
Work item number
| Work item title | Work item description |
|---|---|---|
1 | R&E Community pilot service development support | This work item will support two substantial use cases from the research community to solve complex issues blocking their use of federated identity and eduGAIN in a production environment, engaging with national identity federations as required. They will integrate results from other AAI tasks and E-INFRA-7 as appropriate and provide conclusions from the pilot to support work item 2. |
2 | AAI Consultancy for pan European R&E | This work item will provide on-going subject matter expertise and consultancy in the area of federated identity and eduGAIN to a larger number of research communities and other providers of interest to R&E. It will address use cases where the requirements do not require long term collaboration, but go beyond simple support/FAQ. It will produce research community focussed documentation and best practice, building on existing resources available at REFEDs and via JRA3, GN3plus and E-INFRA-7’s AARC consortium. |
3 | 3rd level support for research communities | In the event that GÉANT AAI services are offered directly to research communities towards the end of pilot and into production, this work item will provided the necessary subject matter escalation point for research community queries that cannot be simply answered earlier in the chain. It will engage with affected federations and channel the user to the appropriate place, helping them with the resolution if this is required to resolve the problem. |
4
| Supporting services for service providers | This work item will develop a clear, simple, friendly process through which new Service Providers who aim to deliver service on a pan-European or global scale, and who do not have a have a particularly obvious relationship with an individual national federation, can publish their metadata via eduGAIN. It will build on the GN3plus experience with cloud providers and pilot with a subset of interested service providers and federations as appropriate. |