A pathfinder project for a National AAAI
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
The RCUK National e-Infrastructure projects wish to propose to undertake pilots to demonstrate the proposed access and resource management infrastructure works in several common research settings, especially in areas where data must be securely accessed, stored and transported.
The pilots will integrate 2 key existing Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting Infrastructure (AAAI) technologies, Assent and SAFE. The Authentication Service Assent is already in service at a number of institutions and Safe Share will be deployed, subject to successful pilots, at eMedLab (Crick/UCL), Farr Institute (London, HeRC, Wales and Scotland) and the Administrative Data Research Network. The Authorisation and Accounting service SAFE is currently used by Archer, DiRAC and the Hartree Centre.
The proposed pathfinder initiative will pilot the integration of these capabilities as a significant step towards implementing a coherent National Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting Infrastructure that serves the needs of UK and international research collaborations.
To deliver our vision of opening up access to the National E-Infrastructure we need to take these individual pieces and integrate them into a UK-wide service, which will also be compatible with EU and international projects' access and resource management services. This will allow us to then roll out a robust user management system across the National E-Infrastructure for both academic and industrial partners. The development of a final national solution is complex and by its nature cannot be quick. It must fit with European and global advances and requires international trust agreements. In order to move towards this, we propose this pathfinder project, which will utilise existing developments and provide a first working service on the National E-Infrastructure.
The pilots will integrate 2 key existing Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting Infrastructure (AAAI) technologies, Assent and SAFE. The Authentication Service Assent is already in service at a number of institutions and Safe Share will be deployed, subject to successful pilots, at eMedLab (Crick/UCL), Farr Institute (London, HeRC, Wales and Scotland) and the Administrative Data Research Network. The Authorisation and Accounting service SAFE is currently used by Archer, DiRAC and the Hartree Centre.
The proposed pathfinder initiative will pilot the integration of these capabilities as a significant step towards implementing a coherent National Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting Infrastructure that serves the needs of UK and international research collaborations.
To deliver our vision of opening up access to the National E-Infrastructure we need to take these individual pieces and integrate them into a UK-wide service, which will also be compatible with EU and international projects' access and resource management services. This will allow us to then roll out a robust user management system across the National E-Infrastructure for both academic and industrial partners. The development of a final national solution is complex and by its nature cannot be quick. It must fit with European and global advances and requires international trust agreements. In order to move towards this, we propose this pathfinder project, which will utilise existing developments and provide a first working service on the National E-Infrastructure.
Planned Impact
This pathfinder will build on and integrate the following existing capabilities:
Jisc's Assent service, to provide users with a common, single sign on mechanism that integrates with institutional identity management systems to confirm a researcher's identity; and its peer systems overseas.
Existing virtual organisation (VO) systems, such as the EPPC's SAFE management infrastructure.
A High Assurance Network and two-factor authentication, where appropriate, for secure data access and transport e.g. JISC's SafeShare service.
Four work packages are proposed to undertake this integration work and pilot the services in the field at sites across the RCUK domain.
The cost to RCUK will be £173932 over 10 months.
The outputs will be secure and very secure versions of a common AAAI application which integrates Assent and SAFE. This will also be able to federate with SAML and X.509 identity management systems which is a requirement for international collaborations.
A technical design and business case for a proposed National AAAI service will be produced.
Jisc's Assent service, to provide users with a common, single sign on mechanism that integrates with institutional identity management systems to confirm a researcher's identity; and its peer systems overseas.
Existing virtual organisation (VO) systems, such as the EPPC's SAFE management infrastructure.
A High Assurance Network and two-factor authentication, where appropriate, for secure data access and transport e.g. JISC's SafeShare service.
Four work packages are proposed to undertake this integration work and pilot the services in the field at sites across the RCUK domain.
The cost to RCUK will be £173932 over 10 months.
The outputs will be secure and very secure versions of a common AAAI application which integrates Assent and SAFE. This will also be able to federate with SAML and X.509 identity management systems which is a requirement for international collaborations.
A technical design and business case for a proposed National AAAI service will be produced.
Publications
Icaza-Lizaola M
(2020)
The clustering of the SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey DR14 LRG sample: structure growth rate measurement from the anisotropic LRG correlation function in the redshift range 0.6 < z < 1.0
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yurchenko S
(2020)
ExoMol line lists - XL. Rovibrational molecular line list for the hydronium ion (H3O+)
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Porth L
(2020)
Fast estimation of aperture mass statistics - I. Aperture mass variance and an application to the CFHTLenS data
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Owen J
(2020)
Massive discs around low-mass stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Srisawat C
(2020)
MEGA: Merger graphs of structure formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Goyal J
(2020)
A library of self-consistent simulated exoplanet atmospheres
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Santos-Santos I
(2020)
Baryonic clues to the puzzling diversity of dwarf galaxy rotation curves
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ludlow A
(2020)
Numerical convergence of hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation: the abundance and internal structure of galaxies and their cold dark matter haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McAlpine S
(2020)
Galaxy mergers in eagle do not induce a significant amount of black hole growth yet do increase the rate of luminous AGN
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gonzalez-Perez V
(2020)
Do model emission line galaxies live in filaments at z ~ 1?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gómez-Guijarro C
(2020)
How primordial magnetic fields shrink galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yurchenko S
(2020)
ExoMol molecular line lists - XXXVII. Spectra of acetylene
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Liow K
(2020)
The role of collision speed, cloud density, and turbulence in the formation of young massive clusters via cloud-cloud collisions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cuesta-Lazaro C
(2020)
Towards a non-Gaussian model of redshift space distortions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mitchell P
(2020)
Galactic inflow and wind recycling rates in the eagle simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Falle S
(2020)
Thermal instability revisited
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Frenk C
(2020)
The little things matter: relating the abundance of ultrafaint satellites to the hosts' assembly history
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wu X
(2020)
Photometric properties of reionization-epoch galaxies in the simba simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wurster J
(2021)
Do we need non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic to model protostellar discs?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Jackson T
(2020)
The star formation properties of the observed and simulated AGN Universe: BAT versus EAGLE
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vandenbroucke B
(2020)
Infrared luminosity functions and dust mass functions in the EAGLE simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Simpson C
(2020)
The milky way total mass profile as inferred from Gaia DR2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Fattahi A
(2020)
A tale of two populations: surviving and destroyed dwarf galaxies and the build-up of the Milky Way's stellar halo
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Katz H
(2020)
New methods for identifying Lyman continuum leakers and reionization-epoch analogues
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Genina A
(2020)
To ß or not to ß: can higher order Jeans analysis break the mass-anisotropy degeneracy in simulated dwarfs?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sormani M
(2020)
Simulations of the Milky Way's Central Molecular Zone - II. Star formation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hughes M
(2020)
The [a/Fe]-[Fe/H] relation in the E-MOSAICS simulations: its connection to the birth place of globular clusters and the fraction of globular cluster field stars in the bulge
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DeGraf C
(2020)
Cosmological simulations of massive black hole seeds: predictions for next-generation electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Glowacki M
(2020)
The baryonic Tully-Fisher relation in the simba simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pearce F
(2020)
Hydrostatic mass estimates of massive galaxy clusters: a study with varying hydrodynamics flavours and non-thermal pressure support
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Evans T
(2020)
How unusual is the Milky Way's assembly history?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Duguid C
(2019)
Tidal flows with convection: frequency-dependence of the effective viscosity and evidence for anti-dissipation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Trayford J
(2020)
Massive low-surface-brightness galaxies in the eagle simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Solar M
(2020)
Azimuthal variations of oxygen abundance profiles in star-forming regions of disc galaxies in EAGLE simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stafford S
(2020)
Exploring extensions to the standard cosmological model and the impact of baryons on small scales
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davé R
(2020)
Galaxy cold gas contents in modern cosmological hydrodynamic simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Borrow J
(2020)
Cosmological baryon transfer in the simba simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sykes C
(2020)
Determining the primordial helium abundance and UV background using fluorescent emission in star-free dark matter haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Xu W
(2020)
Galaxy properties in the cosmic web of EAGLE simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Keating L
(2020)
Constraining the second half of reionization with the Ly ß forest
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Keating L
(2020)
Long troughs in the Lyman-a forest below redshift 6 due to islands of neutral hydrogen
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Oppenheimer B
(2020)
Feedback from supermassive black holes transforms centrals into passive galaxies by ejecting circumgalactic gas
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gratton S
(2020)
Understanding parameter differences between analyses employing nested data subsets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mitchell P
(2020)
Galactic outflow rates in the EAGLE simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pfeffer J
(2020)
Predicting accreted satellite galaxy masses and accretion redshifts based on globular cluster orbits in the E-MOSAICS simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ryczanowski D
(2020)
What does strong gravitational lensing? The mass and redshift distribution of high-magnification lenses
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gaikwad P
(2020)
Probing the thermal state of the intergalactic medium at z > 5 with the transmission spikes in high-resolution Ly a forest spectra
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Wurster J
(2020)
Non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics versus turbulence II: Which is the dominant process in stellar core formation?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Agertz O
(2020)
EDGE: the mass-metallicity relation as a critical test of galaxy formation physics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Grebel E
(2020)
The mass fraction of halo stars contributed by the disruption of globular clusters in the E-MOSAICS simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | We demonstrated the practicality of having a central Authentication and Authorisation Service and linking it to a well used Accounting Service. This was tested in 3 common settings. We were able to demonstrate the successful use of a central Identity Provider for non academic users of academic eninfra structure |
| Exploitation Route | This has been used to form the basis of the Proposed UKRI AAAI Framework |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Agriculture Food and Drink Chemicals Communities and Social Services/Policy Construction Creative Economy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Electronics Energy Environment Financial Services and Management Consultancy Healthcare Government Democracy and Justice Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology Retail Security and Diplomacy Transport |
| Description | Used as the Basis for a UKRI White Paper on AAAI Approach will be used to open up the UKRI Einf to Public Sector, Industry and Commerce |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Fed into UKRI eInfrastructure policy |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Title | IMproved usability of JISC Assent Authentication Service and creation of Credential Conversion Service at RAL |
| Description | The Assent Authentication Service was shown to work with an Authorisation and Accounting Service (SAFE). An API will be published. A credential conversion service was bulit at RAL to allow UK researchers to use home credentials to access international research projects |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The construction of a plan to create a service to allow UK researchers single sign on to UK and World EInfrastrcutures |
| Description | AAAI for the UK NeI |
| Organisation | Jisc |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | PI of RCUK pilot project for AAAI |
| Collaborator Contribution | Software development and testing at 8 UK HEIs and ROs |
| Impact | SAFE+ASSET AAAI service This project enabled the creation of an AAI activity in the UK that is now bearing fruit |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Title | Collaboration with Atempo |
| Description | Tape to Tape data transfter between DiRAC sites. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Proof of COncept that data could be read from Tape stores remotely via a remote file system |
| Title | Fast Network Links for Durham and Cambridge Univeristies |
| Description | The Universeities and Cambridge are now linked by a highly performant Network |
| Type Of Technology | Physical Model/Kit |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Both HEIs are able to ingest data at a faster rate |
| Title | Improved usability of JISC Assent Authentication Service and creation of Credential Conversion Service at RAL |
| Description | The Assent Authentication Service was shown to work with an Authorisation and Accounting Service (SAFE). An API will be published. A credential conversion service was bulit at RAL to allow UK researchers to use home credentials to access international research projects |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | The construction of a plan to create a service to allow UK researchers single sign on to UK and World EInfrastrcutures |
| Description | Member of UKRI E-Infrastructure Expert Panel 2017-2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Created 7 white papers for UKRI which detailed a Roadmap for future e-Infrastructure funding in the UK |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019 |
| Description | NeI Project Directors Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Reports on AAAI, Data E-Infrastructure, Using Cloud for Research The National NeI Survey 2014, 2015, 2016 Report on Gender in HPC BEIS e-Infrastructure Business Case Integration activities of the NeI |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016,2017 |
| URL | https://neipdg.ac.uk/ |
