January 2007 Member Newsletter

- Headlines -

Internet2 Board Elects New Chair and Moves Ahead with GNC Recommendations
At its meeting on 14-15 January, the Internet2 Board of Trustees elected Jeffrey Lehman as its chair, and set a plan for moving ahead with recommendations for strategic planning and revising Internet2's governance structure.
http://www.internet2.edu/about/governance/board.html

As Larry Faulkner's term came to a close at the Internet2 Board of Trustees meeting on 14-15 January 2007, the Board elected Jeffrey Lehman of Cornell University as its new chair. Among other actions taken during the meeting, the Board adopted recommendations made by the Governance and Nominations Committee which were presented at the Fall 2006 Internet2 Member Meeting. These include establishing a new governance structure for the Internet2 organization and more regular processes to communicate with members. The Board has posted materials from its meeting to a newly established wiki.

The Board also heard an update from the Network Planning and Policy Advisory Council (NPPAC) chair Jack McCredie about the work that council is undertaking to set member fees for 2008. The 2008 fees are expected to be discussed further at the upcoming NPPAC meeting and to be finalized at the next Board meeting, the exact date of which is not yet set, but which is being scheduled for the beginning of March.

Internet2 Board Creates New State and Regional Network Membership Category
Based on the recommendation of the Internet2 Network Planning and Policy Advisory Council, the Internet2 Board of Trustees has established a membership category that recognizes the essential partnership between Internet2 and state and regional networks in providing the leading-edge networking capabilities to the Internet2 community.
http://www.internet2.edu/about/governance/board.html

Based on guidance by both the Internet2 Network Planning and Policy Advisory Council (NPPAC) and its own Governance and Nominations Committee (GNC), the Internet2 Board of Trustees has implemented a new category of membership that recognizes the critical coordination required between campus, regional and national efforts to deploy networking capabilities that are reliable, responsive and leading-edge. The new membership category lays the foundation for implementing the GNC's broader recommendations to include state and regional networking organizations in Internet2's governance structure. Internet2 will work collaboratively with the state and regional networks to define and set goals for this new membership category.

EDUCAUSE and Internet2 Support Bi-Partisan Legislation to Protect the Open Internet
The "Internet Freedom Preservation Act" was introduced on 9 January 2007 by Senator Olympia Snowe and Senator Byron Dorgan.
http://news.internet2.edu/SnoweDorgan_Release_wire_2007.pdf

EDUCAUSE and Internet2 have announced their support for the "Internet Freedom Preservation Act" introduced on 9 January 2007 by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and co-sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), John Kerry (D-MA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL). The bill provides an active and bi-partisan solution preventing phone and cable companies from manipulating the performance and architecture of the Internet. As a result, the bill protects the openness and freedom of the Internet that is so vital to enabling the research and education community to fulfill its missions of promoting educational and innovation opportunities for all Americans.

Internet2 Community Supports FCC Rural Healthcare Pilot Program
Update on the latest developments by the Internet2 community in supporting the ground-breaking FCC program.
http://www.internet2.edu/rhcp/

In September 2006, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created a pilot rural health program to assist public and non-profit health care providers to create or connect to state and regional broadband networks and, in turn, to the advanced resources of national research networks like Internet2. This new program is intended to catalyze the formation of a ubiquitous advanced healthcare network that will improve citizens' access to first class healthcare services, resources and research especially in traditionally underserved areas of the country.

Since the FCC order last fall, Internet2 has convened experts from the research and education community, regional networking organizations, and the health sciences to help understand the requirements, services, and resources needed to take full advantage of this program. On a bi-weekly basis, Internet2 hosts conference calls to bring interested constituents together to discuss, and come to consensus on, these important issues. So far, this group has worked to quickly agree on approaches and strategies and share critical information on acceptable and recommended approaches to proposal development. Internet2 has also worked to create a central website and interactive wiki to provide updates on its information-gathering efforts, background information on the program, notes from the bi-weekly calls, related facts and approaches, and news and updates--as well as to provide a central forum for discussion. The only way to make this pilot program truly effective in meeting the needs of health care community is through the combined input and expertise from leaders in health sciences and advanced networking. Internet2 looks forward to continued support and interest in this program and welcomes any new participation in these efforts. For more information, please contact Mike McGill.

- Events -

Spring 2007 Internet2 Member Meeting: Call for Participation
http://events.internet2.edu/2007/spring-mm/calls.html

The Call for Participation for the Spring 2007 Internet2 Member Meeting, scheduled for 23-25 April 2007 in Arlington, Virginia is now available for your response. This Call for Participation includes a Call for Proposals, Call for Side Meetings and Call for Posters. Please note, the Call for Proposals deadline has been extended to 29 January. Details for each of the calls as well as the individual submission forms are all linked from the Call for Participation.

Spring 2007 will be a pivotal time for the Internet2 community. The new Internet2 Network, with its 100 Gbps capacity and dynamic wave provisioning service, will be nearing full implementation; a new governance structure will be in place; and major new advanced research and education partnerships and initiatives--encompassing cyberinfrastructure, the TeraGrid, regional health networks, enterprise workflow, and more--will be underway.

Full explanations and examples of related topics are provided in the Call for Proposals web page. Please review all details, and submit your proposal online.

Internet2 and the New World Symphony Performance and Master Class Production Workshop
http://events.internet2.edu/2007/nws/

Internet2 and the New World Symphony are hosting a hands-on audio/video production workshop on 28-30 January 2007 on the campus of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. The workshop will emphasize real-time experience connecting with remote sites over Internet2 advanced networks. Sessions include setting up incoming and outgoing audio, creating a multi-camera shoot, placing lights and projectors, and operating codecs. This year's workshop will include a demonstration of an interactive music coaching session and will explore the elements needed to produce everything from one-on-one to large stage productions. Participants will have an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the latest network testing tools developed by Internet2. The workshop is designed for an audience of technologists responsible for setting up distance learning and remote interactive media events. Administrators, deans, CIOs, network and audio engineers, and other hands-on technicians will also find this workshop useful and are encouraged to attend. Registration and hotel details are available online.

Registration Open for Winter 2007 ESCC/Internet2 Joint Techs Workshop
http://jointtechs.es.net/minnesota2007

Registration is now open for the Winter 2007 ESCC/Internet2 Joint Techs Workshop, which will be held in Minneapolis, 11-14 February 2007. General information and registration for the workshop can be found at the above URL. This workshop will have focal areas on hybrid networking, campus networks and security, as well as the usual network updates, presentations on interesting applications, and performance updates.

There will be three hands-on workshops in conjunction with this Joint Techs:

  • Internet2 IPv4 Multicast Workshop: 9-11 February
  • Internet2 Network Performance Workshop: 14-15 February
  • SIP.edu VoIP Workshop: 14-15 February
Please note, these workshops require separate registrations and fees.
The Joint Techs Workshop will start at 1pm on Wednesday, 14 February, and continues through Thursday, 15 February. If you have questions contact the Joint Techs Co-Chairs Russ Hobby or Scott Bradley.

Call for Presentations: 9th Annual SURA/ViDe Digital Video Conference
http://www.vide.net/conferences/spr2007/

The 9th Annual SURA/ViDe Digital Video Conference will take place 26-29 March 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference will bring together innovators in higher education, telemedicine and K12 to focus on converged collaboration, conferencing, voice and media on campus, in the networked, web and mobile environments, with an emphasis on both success stories and caveats in merging all the technologies into an integrated, seamless and ubiquitous information ecosystem.

The ViDe 2007 Conference is soliciting presentations on cutting edge strategies for converging media: videoconferencing, streaming video, Voice over IP, collaboration technologies, and new media applications in higher education, K12, medicine and research. Please submit a short abstract (one paragraph to one page) at the conference submission website. Please indicate in your abstract whether or not you will be presenting on-site or remotely, via videoconferencing. The deadline for submissions is Friday, 2 February 2007.

SIP.edu Workshop to be Held at Joint Techs Meeting
http://events.internet2.edu/2007/jt-minneapolis/roster-voip.cfm

A SIP.edu workshop will be held 14-15 February at the Joint Techs meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Participants will learn about the latest is SIP technology, will configure a SIP proxy, learn about gateways, and configure SIP clients, among other topics. This is a separate workshop at the conclusion of the Joint Techs meeting, requiring a separate registration. Registration is limited to the first 35 participants so register soon.

Register Now for the 6th Annual PKI R&D Workshop
http://middleware.internet2.edu/pki07/

The 6th Annual PKI R&D Workshop, "Applications-Driven PKI (It's The Apps, Stupid!)," will be held in Gaithersburg, Maryland, 17-19 April 2007. This workshop will consider the full range of public key technology used for security decisions and supporting functionalities, including authentication, authorization, identity management, federation, and trust. This year's focus is striking the proper balance to permit users to complete tasks requiring security easily while exposing the appropriate security details through all layers of software.

Early registration rates end 26 January 2007. More information on the workshop is available at the above URL.

Identity and Access Managment at the EDUCAUSE Southwest Regional Conference
http://www.educause.edu/swrc07

If you are planning to attend the EDUCAUSE Southwest Regional Conference on 21-23 February 2007 in Austin, Texas, be sure to check out the identity and access management sessions available on the program: Please note, some sessions will require separate registration and fees. For more information, visit the above URL.

- Member News -

Achievements for International Middleware Federations: SWAMID and UK Federation
http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/community.html

The Swedish Alliance for Middleware Infrastructure is pleased to announce that version 1.0 of the SWAMID federation policy and eduroam policy addendum is published at http://www.swamid.se. Most of the site is in Swedish but the policy documents are in English. The next version is expected to include the technology addendum for Shibboleth.

The transition from the Shibboleth Development and Support Services Federation to the UK Access Management Federation started as planned on 30 November 2006, and is due to complete on 30 March 2007. During the transition, all existing SDSS members are temporarily "grandfathered" into the UK Federation; however, each member must complete a formal joining process before the end of the transition period in order to remain in the UK Federation after that time, when the SDSS Federation is also planned to close. Full details of the transitional arrangements can be found on the federation site. The current document set is available online.

Gartner Releases Research Report on Federated Identity
http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/docs/Findings_HE_Inst_Should_Prepare_for_Identity_Federation_144216.pdf

In November 2006, Gartner released a research report titled: "Findings: Higher Education Institutions Should Prepare for Identity Federation." The article is available on the Shibboleth website at the above URL.

- Sponsorship Opportunities -

2007 Sponsorship Planning: Schedule your Activities Now
http://members.internet2.edu/corporate/eventsponsorship.html

Internet2 is looking for members to sponsor a wide variety of workshops and meeting activities throughout calendar year 2007. Sponsoring an event is an excellent way to raise your organization's visibility within the research and higher education market, reach technology decision makers, and showcase engagement and leadership in the Internet2 community. We can help you maximize your sponsorship dollars and corresponding visibility by planning activities for the full year now. Please contact Ellen Vaughan for more information.

Sponsorship Opportunities Available for Winter 2007 Joint Techs Workshop
http://jointtechs.es.net/minnesota2007/

Internet2 is looking for members to sponsor the Welcome Reception and lunch breaks during the Winter 2007 ESCC/Internet2 Joint Techs Workshop, which will be held 11-15 February 2007 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The reception sponsor will have the opportunity to say a few words from the podium. Reception and lunch sponsors will be recognized on the workshop web site, in Internet2 newsletters, and via signage at the event site. If you would like to sponsor the reception or lunch during the workshop, please contact Ellen Vaughan.

Spring 2007 Internet2 Member Meeting Sponsorship Opportunities
http://members.internet2.edu/corporate/eventsponsorship.html

Internet2 is looking for members to sponsor several events and activities during the Spring 2007 Internet2 Member Meeting, which will be held 23-25 April 2007 in Arlington, Virginia. Sponsorship opportunities include meeting receptions, breaks, and meals. Contributions to the meeting network infrastructure are also welcome. Sponsors will be recognized in the printed meeting program, on the meeting web site, in Internet2 newsletters, via signage at the event site, and in other appropriate ways. We always welcome suggestions for new ways to acknowledge generous support. For additional information, please see the URL above or contact Ellen Vaughan.

- Tools -

Just Released: the Shibboleth Identity Provider, version 1.3.1
http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/latest.html

The new version of Shibboleth offers a number of enhancements and some new features including two new resolution plugins that allow for static attribute values for everyone in the system and the ability to use ECMAScript (Javascript) to define and manipulate attribute values. Additionally, it offers integration of an ARP constraint functionality which allows for rules to be constructed that release or deny attributes based on the values of other attributes. It also offers a set of features meant to help organizations transition to Shibboleth 2.0, including the ability to optionally terminate support for 1.1 service providers, modified entity credential (X.509 cert) trust checking, and ability to read "raw" keys from the metadata.

For a complete list of the changes please see the change log. As always, downloads are available from the Shibboleth website listed above.

Signet-Grouper LDAP Provisioning Connector version 1.0 Just Released
https://wiki.internet2.edu/confluence/display/i2miCommon/Ldappc+v1.0

Ldappc (LDAP Provisioning Connector) fills a gap in the integration architecture for Signet and Grouper by providing an automated way of reflecting groups, memberships, and/or permissions from Grouper or Signet databases into an LDAP directory. Ldappc can be configured to support a range of target LDAP schemas for representing such information. It also uses the native selection capabilities of the Grouper and Signet application program interfaces (APIs) to allow deployers to define which groups, memberships, or permissions should be provisioned.

A brief overview, download instructions, and links to pertinent documentation within the Ldappc package have been collected at the above URL.

- Deployed Services -

InCommon Steering Committee Seeking Nominations for Two Seats
http://www.incommonfederation.org/about.cfm

The InCommon Federation announces an open call for nominees for its Steering Committee. The InCommon Steering committee is responsible the InCommon federation's activities and decisions regarding the operation and direction of the federation. This year, plans are developing for partnering with other federations internationally as well as nationally. The Steering Committee is selected as a representative body of the broadest community of higher education institutions and its many partners. For a current list of Steering Committee representatives, please see the above URL.

To nominate an individual, including yourself, please send your recommendation to incommon-nom@incommonfederation.org by 16 February 2007. The InCommon Steering Committee will consider a broad roster of the highest caliber of candidates for two open seats. Questions and comments may also be sent to the email address above.

- New Members -

Internet2 would like to welcome:

Corporate Members
  Cdigix
  http://www.cdigix.com/website/cdigix/
  OpVista, Inc.
  http://www.opvista.com
  Verizon Business
  http://www.verizonbusiness.com/

- Internet2 Calendar -

Internet2 Events

Spring 2007 Internet2 Member Meeting
  http://events.internet2.edu/2007/spring-mm/
  23 - 25 Apr    Arlington, VA

Internet2 Workshops

Internet2 and New World Symphony Master Class Production Workshop
  http://events.internet2.edu/2007/nws/
  28 - 30 Jan    Miami, FL

CAMP: Charting Your Authentication Roadmap
  http://www.educause.edu/camp071
  7 - 9 Feb    Tempe, AZ

Internet2 IPv4 Multicast Hands-On Workshop
  http://events.internet2.edu/2007/multicast/2-07/
  9 - 11 Feb    Minneapolis, MN

Winter 2007 Joint Techs
  http://jointtechs.es.net/minnesota2007/
  11 - 15 Feb    Minneapolis, MN

Internet2 Network Performance Workshop
  http://e2epi.internet2.edu/npw/jt07-umn/index.html
  14 - 15 Feb    Minneapolis, MN

Internet2 Days

University of Washington Internet2 Day
  http://k20.internet2.edu/uwi2day
  8 Jan    Seattle, WA

SUNY Potsdam/NYSERNet Internet2 Day
  http://www.potsdam.edu/i2day
  18 Jan    Potsdam, NY

For a complete listing of Internet2 events see http://events.internet2.edu/

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