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- Uses REFEDS Assurance (RAF) components: Identifier uniqueness (ID), Identity Proofing (IAP), Attribute Freshness (ATP)
- Defines compensatory controls (e.g. email verification, Research & Scholarship entity category) when values are missing.
AARC-G056 – Attribute Profile(in development)
Defines a harmonised AARC attribute profile consolidating subject identifiers, names, email, affiliation, assurance, groups memberships and roles, and resource capabilities. Once approved, it will provide a single reference profile for attribute release across AARC-compliant infrastructures.
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- Format: <NAMESPACE>:res:<RESOURCE>[:act:<ACTION>[,<ACTION>]...]#<AUTHORITY>
- Supports hierarchical resource structures and explicit action scopes, enabling fine-grained, interoperable expression of access rights.
AARC-G052 – Proxied Token Introspection(under final consultation)
Extends OAuth 2.0 Token Introspection (RFC 7662) to multi-proxy environments.
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- The Community AAI, operated by or on behalf of a research community, which manages user enrolment, group membership, roles, and other community-managed attributes
- The Infrastructure Proxy, operated at the infrastructure level, which acts as the single integration point for services. It connects to different Community AAIs and enforces infrastructure policies
- Layered model allows communities to manage their users and authorisation independently, while infrastructures provide the trusted integration point for services
- Services connect only to the Infrastructure Proxy, reducing integration complexity for service providers
- Together, Community AAIs and the Infrastructure Proxy provide a scalable and interoperable foundation for connecting communities, infrastructures, and services
AARC-G080 – Blueprint Architecture 2025(in development)
Updates the BPA to reflect current practices and introduces a capability-based view
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- Identity Management – covers authentication, identity lifecycle, and integration with external IdPs
- Collaboration Management – enables management of groups, roles, and collaboration-driven authorisation
- Infrastructure Integration – enriches identities with infrastructure-specific attributes (e.g. resource capabilities, infrastructure roles)
- Site-local Integration – connects federated identities to local services and enforcing site-specific policies
AARC-G081 – Token Lifetime Recommendations(under final consultation)
Provides recommendations for operational lifetimes of access tokens and refresh tokens. Consistent practices are essential for reducing the risk of misuse while supporting cross-infrastructure interoperability.
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- Access tokens verified online (revocable):
- Default: 1 hour – consistent with SAML session lifetimes.
- Max: 25 hours – allows for running short jobs and next-day result checks.
- Refresh tokens:
- Default: 30 days – chosen as roughly the geometric mean between a day and a year, balancing usability and security
- Max: 400 days – ensures periodic proof of user involvement.
AARC-G100 – Establishing Trust with OpenID Federation (in development)
Defines how AARC-compliant AAI services –such as Infrastructure Proxies and Community AAIs– establish trust using the OpenID Federation 1.0 specification.
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These guidelines improve the usability of federated login by helping users find their Identity Provider and understand which services are available, reducing login friction and confusion, and supporting smoother end-user journeys. Additionally, the accessibility of federated logins needs to be considered in line, for example, with the latest W3C Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
AARC-G061 – Identity Provider Hinting
Defines
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the aarc_idp_hint parameter, allowing services or proxies to guide users to the correct authenticating IdP or upstream proxy.
Supports nested hints for complex routing
AARC-G062 – Discovery Service Selection
Defines
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the aarc_ds_hint parameter for suggesting which Discovery Service to use.
Enables community- or infrastructure-specific discovery experiences
AARC-G063 – End Service Information
Introduces
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the aarc_service_hint parameter to signal to a Discovery Service which end-service the user is accessing.
Allows Discovery Services to present context-specific IdPs (e.g. filtering based on assurance requirements)
Improves clarity in multi-proxy login flows