ng to given
individuals. Sometimes referred to as an "enterprise directory". Typically
includes name, address, email address, affiliation, and electronic
identifier(s). Many technologies can be used to create an identity
database, for example LDAP or a set of linked relational databases.
enterprise directory - An enterprise directory is a core middleware architecture that may provide common authentication, authorization, and attribute services to electronic services offered by an institution.
enterprise directory infrastructure - The infrastructure required to support and maintain an enterprise directory. This may include multiple directory hardware components as well as the processes by which data flows into and out of the directory service.
federated identity - The management of identity information between members of a federation.
federation - A federation is an association of organizations that come together to exchange information as appropriate about their users and resources in order to enable collaborations and transactions.
Federation Operation Policies and Practices (FOPP) - The policies and practices the Federation operates under on a
day-to-day basis. This document describes the activities of the Federation
organization, the process of Participants applying and being accepted, etc.,
and how decisions are made.
Handle - A reference assigned to a user for the purpose of retrieving attributes about the user. The handle is not in any way linked to the identity of the user.
Handle Service - The Identity Provider component responsible for (indirectly) providing a handle to be used for making user attribute requests to an Identity Provider Attribute Authority.
Handle Service subject DN - The distinguished name of the Handle
Handle Service URL - The Internet address of the Handle Service.
higher education institution - A two- or four-year post-secondary, degree-granting institution that is regionally accredited by an agency on the U.S. Department of Education's list of Regional Institutional Accrediting Agencies (see http://www.incommonfederation.org/accrediting.html).
identity - Identity is the set of information associated with a specific physical person or other entity. Usually not all identity attributes are relevant in any given situation. Typically an Identity Provider will be authoritative for only a subset of a person's identity information.
identity credential - An electronic identifier and corresponding personal secret associated with an electronic identity. An identity credential typically is issued to the person who is the subject of the information to enable that person to gain access to applications or other resources that need to control such access.
identity database - A structured collection of information pertaining to a given individual. Sometimes referred to as an "enterprise directory." Typically includes name, address, email address, affiliation, and electronic identifier(s). Many technologies can be used to create an identity database or set of linked relational databases.
Identity Management System - A set of standards, procedures and technologies that provide electronic credentials to individuals and maintain authoritative information about the holders of those credentials.
Identity Provider (IdP) - The originating location for a user. Previously called the Origin Site in the Shibboleth software implementation. For InCommon, an IdP is a campus or other organization that manages and operates an identity management system and offers information about members of its community to other InCommon participants.
InCommon CA Root Profile - The description of attributes and the data required to authenticate under the InCommon Certificate Authority (CA).
InCommon federation - InCommon is a formal federation of organizations focused on creating a common framework for trust in support of research and education. The primary purpose of the InCommon federation is to facilitate collaboration through the sharing of protected network-accessible resources by means of an agreed-upon common trust fabric. InCommon 