Minutes: Grouper call 19-June-2013
Attending
Tom Barton, U. Chicago (chair)
Chris Hyzer, University of Pennsylvania
David Langenberg, U. Chicago
Jim Fox, University of Washington
Emily Eisbruch, Internet2, scribe
New Action Items
[AI] (Chris) review training videos and wiki doc on Subject API and make improvements where needed.
[AI] (Chris) email the Grouper-Users list urging campuses to contribute examples of how they handle key Grouper topics,
such as attributes and permissions, sample Subject API, sample PSP.
[AI] (Chris) email the list to get input on the preferred shipped default for READ & VIEW privileges. (DONE)https://lists.internet2.edu/sympa/arc/grouper-users/2013-06/msg00069.html
[AI] (Chris) review the new UI community requestshttps://spaces.at.internet2.edu/display/Grouper/Grouper+UI+redesign+v2.2
[AI] (Tom) put on agenda for next call the preferred shipped default for READ & VIEW privileges.
[AI] (Dave) create additional JIRAs regarding PSP and handling attributes.
[AI] (Emily invite Jeff to add to the community requests table his idea for additional attribute functionality in the new UI (for post-2.2.0 release).https://spaces.at.internet2.edu/display/Grouper/Grouper+UI+redesign+v2.2
Carry Over Action Items
[AI] (Tom) add to the agenda for a future call: steps towards getting more info on who is using Grouper
[AI] (Shilen) email users lists to ask who is using the legacy attributes and ask how they are using them
[AI] (Chris) upgrade the Grouper demo to the latest Grouper version 2.1
DISCUSSION
Feedback from Grouper PreConference Seminar at Apereo conference
http://conf2013.apereo.org/schedule/preconference#grouperhttp://lanyrd.com/2013/apereo/schtrd/
-The June 2 Grouper PreConference Seminar at the Apereo Conference went well
-Bill and Chris were co-presenters, and attendance was good
-Much discussion on Subject API
-Jim noted that the example config files have useful guidance on Subject API
-Would be helpful to make the information on the wiki page on Subject API easier to find and clearer:
https://spaces.at.internet2.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=14517958#APIBuilding%26Configuration-ChoosingIdentifiersforSubjects
[AI] (Chris) review training videos and wiki doc on Subject API and make improvements where needed.
-There were issues at the Apereo Pre-Conf. Seminar with running the Grouper installer, due to capacity issues when attendees started downloading
-Chris will consult with the Shib installers on how they solve similar capacity issues for the Shib installfests
[AI] (Chris) email the Grouper-Users list urging campuses to contribute examples of how they handle key Grouper topics,
such as attributes and permissions, sample Subject API, sample PSP .
-Chris had a good conversation with Mohan, who works as a consultant in the San Diego area.
-There was a lunch during the Apereo conference for people interested in Grouper
-Also at the Apereo conference, Benn and Chris presented a session on the CIFER APIhttp://lanyrd.com/2013/apereo/schtyq/
Read and View Default – should it be off or on in the Shipped Config?
Grouper ships by default with the UI auto-selecting group privileges to be globally viewable and readable (can see the group exists and view its members).
Is this the correct default?
Jim: U Washington likes the default as is, with group privileges globally viewable and readable.
Later, some can be turned off.
Chris: for security purposes, the default should be that we ship with the read and view privileges off.
Q: Can a loader job specify the privileges for the group?
A: yes
Rules on the stem can be used to help manage the defaults for the individual deployment.
However, the interaction between a rule and the checkbox on the Create Group dialog could become confusing.
[AI] (Chris) email the list to get input on the preferred shipped default for READ & VIEW privileges. (DONE)https://lists.internet2.edu/sympa/arc/grouper-users/2013-06/msg00069.html
UI Progress
Chris will move forward with working on the new Grouper UI in the coming weeks.
As part of this Chris will review the community requests.
[AI] (Chris) review the new UI community requestshttps://spaces.at.internet2.edu/display/Grouper/Grouper+UI+redesign+v2.2
There was a request on the list regarding drop down for attribute datahttps://lists.internet2.edu/sympa/arc/grouper-users/2013-06/msg00051.html
This is probably considered an advanced task.
Should be added to the community request table.
[AI] (Emily invite Jeff to add to the community requests table his idea for additional attribute functionality in the new UI (for post-2.2.0 release).https://spaces.at.internet2.edu/display/Grouper/Grouper+UI+redesign+v2.2
Takeaways from Recent List threads
Dave: There was a recent issue discussed on the list about the PSP and Shib Attribtue Resolver response to group types and attributes.
Dave plans to add a few modules to address this.
[AI] (Dave) create additional JIRAs regarding PSP and handling attributes.
Character Set Issue
https://lists.internet2.edu/sympa/arc/grouper-users/2013-06/msg00048.html
Character set issues have been discussed on the list related to using a legacy Oracle database and systems that use bytes instead of chars.
Grouper columns have a max length.
Chris opened a JIRA:https://bugs.internet2.edu/jira/browse/GRP-916
Important questions are:
-Can we convert from bytes to chars in an upgrade?
-Are there negative performance implications (should more space be available for this?
-Do each of the databases support chars instead of bytes?
Appreciation: Appreciation to TomZ for his help in addressing several PSP questions on the Grouper-users list.
Next Grouper Call: Wed. July 3 at noon ET