Research Collaborations vary in terms of requirements, meaning that each AAI architecture will look different. The AARC Handbook is intended to be used as a practical tool to foster the uptake and use of the AARC-compliant AAI by different research communities. To reach this goal, a series of varied case studies is being compiled over time. These case studies are intended to service as real-life examples of how different research collaborations have set-up AARC-compliant AAI. They will include lessons learned, tips and tricks and reference implementation examples to help other communities setting up their own AAI. Further contributions from Research Collaborations are welcome!
Research Infrastructures and Communities
To provide a framework for this outreach campaign, we are collaborating with the five Science Clusters in the framework of the Open Science Clusters' Action for Research and Society (OSCARS) project. The aim of OSCARS is to foster the uptake of Open Science in Europe by advancing and integrating FAIR research data and cross-disciplinary services within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). This collaboration with the Science Clusters, kick-started through a joint workshop, has provided the basis for creating a series of case studies in the domains of:
AARC in Action: Case Studies
The success of the AARC Blueprint Architecture (BPA) is largely determined by its uptake and use within research collaborations. Through our AARC in Action outreach campaign, we will raise awareness of the AARC Handbook with research infrastructures and their communities regarding their AAI-requirements and implementation. This will not only help us to update and improve the AARC Handbook, but will help us develop a series of AARC in Action Case Studies, to help others to implement an AARC-compliant AAI. As the AARC Case Studies are developed, we will publish them as real-life AAI-implementation in the AARC in Action section of this handbook.
Here is an initial list of AARC in Action Case Studies:
- Astronomy and Particle Physics:
- Case Study: CERN laboratory
- Social Sciences and Humanities
- Case Study: Philosophy: Medieval Fallacy project
These case studies will be coordinated by the AARC Handbook Editorial Team. Further case studies will be added as they become available. Case Study contributions from Research Collaborations are welcome!
To ensure comparability, each case study will use the AARC in Action Case Study template provided below.
AARC in Action: Case Study Template
| Domain | Which research field are you serving? | |
| User Base | Who are your users? Are they affiliated with institutions in eduGAIN, external (e.g. guest, citizen science), or a mix? | |
| Access Requirements | Does the sensitivity of your research require additional access approval mechanisms? Do you need fine-grained access control, or is basic authentication sufficient? | |
| Scale | How many services do you plan to connect to your AAI? Which protocols do they require? What is a realistic estimate of effort required to migrate all users and services from one AAI to another in case of a crisis? | |
| Existing Infrastructure | Do you have an identity provider (IdP) or group management service already? | |
| Sustainability | Can you commit operational resources, or do you need a hosted service? For how long will your AAI be required? Will your available support level be able to increase with growth of participating institutes or services? | |
| Environment specific requirements | Do you need any physical connectivity to dedicated networks? Are IT interventions restricted to fixed time windows? Do you have any other unusual requirements that may not be supported by off the shelf solutions? | |
Governance | Who will take responsibility for policy decisions regarding your AAI? Do they have enough authority over your research community to make high level statements and decisions, e.g. for data protection, security policy requirement etc? |