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Upcoming Webinar
InCommon Services, Software and a Proposed Fee Change
The goal of InCommon Federation is simple: Let’s help members of the community work together whether their team is distributed around the state or across the globe.
But it takes a village: Starting in 1998 with National Science Foundation and Internet2 member support, the community developed tools and services to make it easier and secure to access collaborations and services hosted elsewhere. A federation was one outcome. Software to make it all work for the participants is another.
Funding and community requirements for both have been done differently, but it makes sense to change that. The Federation and the software are intertwined and should be designed, developed, and supported together.
InCommon and Internet2 Trust and Identity community advisory groups have recommended an InCommon fee increase, to take effect January 1, 2020, to make this happen.
We invite you to join Kevin Morooney (Internet2 VP for Trust and Identity), Ted Hanss (vice-chair of the InCommon Steering Committee), and Sean Reynolds (chair of the InCommon Steering Committee) as they outline the need and the roadmap for the fee increase.
Presenters:
Ted Hanss, Associate CIO, Medicine and Health Divisions, Yale University and Vice-Chair, InCommon Steering
Kevin Morooney, Internet2, VP for Trust and Identity
Sean Reynolds, CIO, Northwestern University and Chair, InCommon Steering
Connect via Zoom
https://internet2.zoom.us/j/756810384
Or Dial:
US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 669 900 6833
Webinar ID: 756 810 384
Changes to InCommon's Role
A convergence of dynamics is driving changes with InCommon.
- The scope of responsibility is expanding to include stewardship of the InCommon-ready identity and access management software (including Shibboleth, Grouper, and COmanage) that have been integrated, developed, and containerized as part of the TIER (Trust and Identity in Education and Research) program.
- The software formerly known as "TIER" is now the InCommon Trusted Access Platform.
- The three-year TIER program is ending, including the $1,225,000 annual funding dedicated to software development and engineering.
Federation and associated software and services are critical access management infrastructure, essential for academic collaboration and cloud services. Operating within the Federation requires a robust identity management function as well as cost-effective software to interact with partners in the community. That identity and access and federation software is an organization’s InCommon springboard into the Federation community.
InCommon’s role has become more complex in the last few years as we moved to ensure an always-on 24/7 service. Now we are expanding to support trusted access software, making it as easy as possible to install, operate, and configure to ensure that any eligible organization can participate.
Changes to InCommon Fees
Over the past three years, 49 investor schools have provided $1,225,000 annually to support the TIER software engineering, development, and adoption. The proposed InCommon fee changes will, in part, replace that funding, and allow for the continued development and enhancement of core community-driven open source identity and access management software.
Below are the proposed fees, compared to current fees.
InCommon Fees by Participant Level*
Current Participants
Current Cert-Only
Current Research Org
2020 Unified Fees
Level 1
$5,025
$4,138
$3,250
$12,000
Level 2
$4,025
$3,363
$2,700
$9,000
Level 3
$1,600
$2,088
$1,600
$6,000
Level 4
$1,180
$1,468
$1,180
$2,500
*Levels are based on Carnegie classifications (higher ed), FTE (research orgs), and annual revenue (sponsored partners).
Further Information About the InCommon Trusted Access Platform
All of the core software components, as well as the InCommon Federation itself, grew from the National Science Foundation-funded Internet2 Middleware Initiative, which formed in 1999. Over time, these components were enhanced and maintained by their own community and contract developers. The TIER program worked to integrate these components (through APIs and connectors), as well as make them easier to install and configure (with the use of containers, as an example). Additional components were added, based on community need and feedback, to form the TIER suite.
Community leadership, and feedback from community members, pointed to the need to continue the stewardship of what TIER has developed. Given the pervasive use by the community (for example, 90% of InCommon identity providers use Shibboleth), and the tight link between operating with the Federation and the need for robust software, the decision was made that InCommon would become the software steward.
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Open Office Hours for InCommon Future 2019 and Fee Change
Tuesday, January 151 pm ET / Noon CT / 11 am MT / 10 am PT
Wednesday, January 23
2 pm Et / 1 pm CT / Noon MT / 11 am PT
Thursday, January 31
3 pm ET / 2 pm CT / 1 pm MT / Noon PT
Wednesday, February 6
1 pm ET / Noon CT / 11 am MT / 10 am PT
Zoom Coordinates
https://internet2.zoom.us/j/768400238
Or dial in using one of these numbers:
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 768 400 238
Other Resources and Background
TIER (Trust and Identity in Education and Research) history and overview
TIER and InCommon Accomplishments Report 2017
TIER and InCommon Accomplishments Report 2016