An open discussion list for topics related to the eduGAIN interfederation service.

[Nicole Harris <nicole.harris AT geant.org>]

On 03/07/2015 09:49, Niels van Dijk wrote:
> On 03-07-15 10:12, Nicole Harris wrote:
> > Hi Niels
>
> > Whoever is the registration authority for that metadata is assumed
> > to be the registrar for the R&S tag - ergo you shouldn't add a
> > tagged service to edugain unless you as a federation have added the
> > tag.
>
> Thanks for confirming my thoughts on this.
>
> Where/when would this assumption break? Could we imagine eduGAIN
> itself being the registrar? 
This places a burden of effort onto the eduGAIN team which really isn't
resourced, but is technically feasible. The question is really do we
want eduGAIN to take on the role of registrar in any context. 

> E.g. when an ERIC directly joins eduGAIN?
> What if it starts asserting R&S on its own SPs?
There are many many many issues with the concept of things joining
edGAIN "directly" and eduGAIN taking on the traditional role of
registrar that I hope the Enabling Users task will think about in it's
analysis of this area.  It's not trivial or an easy a fix, despite
looking so.
>
> > I'm not sure which CLARIN SP you were looking at but this is quite
> > useful: https://technical.edugain.org/entities4.php.  It seems the
> > answer is DFN for most of the CLARIN resources at the moment.
>
> Within eduGAIN this is a non issue indeed.
> However, CLARIN is also providing metadata with the context of their
> own federation, the "CLARIN Service Provider Federation". It is
> probably trivial to have the "CLARIN Service Provider Federation" be
> the registrar, but it feels a bit weird as, being an SP federation,
> that does not add an extra layer of trust, contrary to how R&S is used
> in e.g. eduGAIN.
Yes that adds complexity as it essentially breaks the balance test
(https://wiki.refeds.org/display/ENT/Guidance+on+justification+for+attribute+release)
by self-declaring rather than having the right checks in place..but I
think there are things we could do to support that with organisations
like CLARIN that we work with closely to help reduce that problem if it
became an issue.
>
> Cheers,
> Niels
>
>
>
> > Hope that helps
>
> > N
>
> > On 03/07/2015 08:40, Niels van Dijk wrote:
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> This may sound a bit academic, but who is the R&S 'registrar' in
> >> eduGAIN? I know we are all assuming it to be the Federations (at
> >> least thats is what I think), but I note there is nothing in
> >> either R&S (rightfully so) or in eduGAIN that states this is the
> >> case.
> >>
> >> The reason I ask is that I am now looking at CLARIN Service
> >> Provider Federation metadata where they state their SP to be R&S,
> >> and I realized there is no agreement in that federation on who is
> >> the registrar either.
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >>
> >> Niels
> >>
> >>
>
> > -- Nicole Harris PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OFFICER GÉANT - Amsterdam
> > Office M: +31 (0) 646105395 Skype: harrisnv
>
> > Networks • Services • People
>
> > Learn more at www.geant.org​
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

-- 
Nicole Harris
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
GÉANT - Amsterdam Office
M: +31 (0) 646105395
Skype: harrisnv

Networks • Services • People

Learn more at www.geant.org​