Per-Entity Metadata Working Group

[Scott Koranda <>]

Hi,

Below is the simple interim report that went out last week to TAC to communicate quickly the group's finding that Ops move ahead now with an IdP-only aggregate (contains metadata only for IdPs).

It was accepted by the TAC Chair Steven Carmody but I have not heard if TAC discussed it in any detail or if it went upstream to InCommon Steering.

Just FYI.

Thanks,

Scott K

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Dear members of the InCommon Technical Advisory Committee (TAC):

The InCommon Per-entity Metadata Working Group wishes to
submit an interim finding in order to facilitate a rapid and
timely response from InCommon Operations. This interim finding
is in addition to but does not supplant the final report the
working group is to deliver.

The working group finds and recommends that InCommon
Operations proceed immediately with the design, creation, and
delivery of a new InCommon metadata aggregate that contains
only the metadata for identity providers (IdPs). This new
aggregate is intended to be consumed by service providers (SP)
that need to consume InCommon metadata but that will be
unlikely or unable to immediately transition to a per-entity
metadata service when offered by InCommon.  The new IdP-only
aggregate will help relieve issues some SPs face as the size
of the existing InCommon metadata aggregates continues to
grow.

The working group also finds that there should be a single
IdP-only aggregate rather than following the model that the
full aggregate provides of having the triplet of preview,
main, and fallback versions of the aggregate. This finding
balances the effort necessary from InCommon Operations to
produce and support a new aggregate against the benefits
provided by the new aggregate. A single new IdP-only aggregate
without preview and fallback versions solves important issues
for some SPs but does not cost as much to operate.

In preparing this interim finding the working group has been
in direct contact with InCommon Operations through Tom Scavo
and Nick Roy, who are part of the working group. The working
group understands that InCommon Operations supports this
finding.

Please let us know if there are any questions about this
finding that the working group can help answer.

Sincerely,

Scott Koranda
David Walker

for the InCommon Per-Entity Metadata Working Group