Earlier AAI Documents

Back to the current AAI documents overview page.

AAI Accounting Documents

AAI Accounting Pilot Study

Accounting for the Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure (AAI) - Pilot Study [23  pages]

AAI Micropayment White Paper

Enhancing SWITCHaai with Micropayment Functionality for Swiss Universities [16 pages]

'AAI in a nutshell' Flyer

The front page of our flyer introduces AAI. The back page covers solutions for resource integration into AAI. It is available in three languages:
english - deutsch - français [2 pages]

Document Set Concluding the AAI Pilot-Phase

Results of the Pilot Phase

This document presents the goals, review and results achieved during the pilot phase between September 2002 and December 2003.
Results of the Pilot Phase [21 pages]

AAI System and Interface Specification

It introduces a generic model of an AAI as well as the Shibboleth middleware from Internet2
In addition, it describes how organizations can integrate their Authentication System and User Directory in AAI. Integration methods for resources are: native (by means of Shibboleth only) or via a tool like AAIportal.
AAI System and Interface Specification [19 pages]

Authorization Attribute Specification

The AAI Attribute Specification sets the standard for attribute transfer via AAI among participating organizations.
The format chosen for attribute definition is close to the LDAP syntax.
The corresponding LDAP schema might be of use to AAI Home Organizations implementing this specification.
Authorization Attribute Specification [25 pages]

SWITCHaai Federation - Organization and Processes

An AAI requires not only a legal framework allowing participants to exchange information, but also the mutual trust between organizations. The SWITCHaai Federation serves these purposes by setting up rules for the participants' behavior by means of service agreements and a documented policy. Besides the definition of the SWITCHaai Federation, the document covers the organizational structure and processes necessary to operate the AAI.
SWITCHaai Federation - Organization and Processes [17 pages]

AAI Services

Besides the roles of Home Organization and Resource Owner, the AAI Service Provider is also part of the infrastructure. SWITCH takes this role for the SWITCHaai Federation. The document provides an overview of the services offered by SWITCH and it is also meant to serve as guidance for 'make or buy' decisions of Home Organizations and Resource Owners.
AAI Services [10 pages]

Major Earlier AAI Documents

AAI Status Report June 2003 - 2003-06

A handy two page document summarizes the milestones achieved so far and provides an overview of the next activities in building the AAI.
Status Report June 2003 [2 pages]

AAI Folder - 2002-09

Our AAI folder introduces you easily into AAI. Each of the four pages covers an area by itself, "Vision: e-Academia", "The challenge: universal access", "Solution: infrastructure" and "Strategy: collaboration". It is available in four languages:
english - deutsch - français - italiano [6 pages]

AAI Report - 2002-05

The AAI Report summarizes the findings and recommendations of four inter-university working groups established in late 2001 according to the AAI Concept of September 2001. The groups concluded their work in May 2002.

AAI Concept - 2001-09

In September 2001, the AAI Concept paper was published by an inter-university working group.

Evaluation of an Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure - 1999-11

The first document of SWITCH ever using the term AAI was written in November 1999, the Application for a VCS mandate.
At that time, VCS was the German abbreviation in use for the Swiss Virtual Campus.

Task Force Reports

AAI 'Certification Authority' Task Force Report - 2003-07

AAI uses https for traffic encryption and server authentication, thus requiring suitable server certificates on AAI core components.
A task force defined an architectural design of how to issue server certificates, satisfying the needs of the AAI project and other projects with reasonably similar requirements.
The AAI CA Task Force Report proposes to start with server certificates only and to study issues related to client certificates later on.

The following is a companion document to the CA Report, a draft of a combined policy and practice statement for a certification authority. It is provided to serve SWITCH as a starting point with the policy framework for the setup of a service issuing server certificates.

AAI Finance Task Force Report - 2003-06

The AAI takes shape. Several aspects of the AAI have been trialed in pilot projects so far. The AAI Finance Task Force gathered the facts and experiences in those pilot projects to estimate the costs of setting up and running the AAI. The final AAI Finance Task Force Report contains cost estimates for home organisation integration, resource integration and centrally provided elements.

AAI Policy Task Force Report - 2003-02

The AAI bases on legal regulations already in force and participants can only act within those boundaries. Particularly relevant are data protection issues and liability issues. Furthermore, the parties participating in the AAI need to agree to a common set of guidelines describing the rules of good conduct. Both aspects are covered in the AAI Policy Task Force Report.
AAI Policy Task Force Report [8 pages]

Architecture Evaluation - 2003-01

The Architecture Evaluation document summarizes the description of the three architectures (PAPI, Shibboleth and Téquila), the evaluation criteria developed by the task force as well as the filled in evaluation sheet with the ratings for each architecture.