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Abstract

This presentation provides an overview of the technologies and processes required for joining the AAF Shibboleth Federation. It provides a review of pre-conditions to joining, such as the importance of an authoritative institutional directory for Identity Providers (IdPs) and “Service Descriptions” for Service Providers (SPs). It discusses internal business processes that need to be in place to address the requirements of both joining and ongoing participation. A special focus is given to the suite of validated software packages provided freely to members for managing their involvement in the federation, including: pre-configured Shibboleth Identity Provider and Service Provider software, ShARPE and Autograph (institutional and personal privacy management systems), and federation support systems such as the Federated White Pages Service, Federation Manager, IAMSuite (a virtual organisation management system) and other federation-level services available to members. While the validated software packages are recommended, they are not required for participation in the federation, so the presentation will also include discussion of deployment and interoperability issues for those using other systems. The presentation will conclude with advice on practical deployment steps, and available support such as workshops.

About the speaker

James Dalziel is Professor of Learning Technology and Director of the Macquarie E-Learning Centre Of Excellence (MELCOE) at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. James leads a number of projects including: LAMS (Learning Activity Management System), including roles as a Director of the LAMS Foundation and LAMS International Pty Ltd; MAMS (Meta Access Management System), a national identity and access infrastructure project for the Australian higher education sector; RAMP (Research Activityflow and Middleware Priorities), a project investigating open standards authorisation and e-Research workflows, and ASK-OSS (the Australian Service for Knowledge of Open Source Software), a national advisory service on open source issues for the Australia higher education and research sector. Prior to his current roles, James helped lead the COLIS (Collaborative Online Learning and Information Services) project, was a Director of WebMCQ Pty Ltd, an e-learning and assessment company, and was a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sydney.