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
Agertz O
(2020)
EDGE: the mass-metallicity relation as a critical test of galaxy formation physics
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kruijssen J
(2020)
Kraken reveals itself - the merger history of the Milky Way reconstructed with the E-MOSAICS simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Duguid C
(2020)
Convective turbulent viscosity acting on equilibrium tidal flows: new frequency scaling of the effective viscosity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Belokurov V
(2020)
The biggest splash
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
Griffin A
(2020)
AGNs at the cosmic dawn: predictions for future surveys from a ?CDM cosmological model
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Li B
(2020)
Measuring the baryon acoustic oscillation peak position with different galaxy selections
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pakmor R
(2020)
The orbital phase space of contracted dark matter haloes
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kewley L
(2020)
Oxygen loss from simulated galaxies and the metal flow main sequence: predicting the dependence on mass and environment
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bennett J
(2020)
Resolving shocks and filaments in galaxy formation simulations: effects on gas properties and star formation in the circumgalactic medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Sorini D
(2020)
simba: the average properties of the circumgalactic medium of 2 = z = 3 quasars are determined primarily by stellar feedback
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pfeifer S
(2020)
The bahamas project: effects of a running scalar spectral index on large-scale structure
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Robson D
(2020)
X-ray emission from hot gas in galaxy groups and clusters in simba
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lofthouse E
(2020)
MUSE Analysis of Gas around Galaxies (MAGG) - I: Survey design and the environment of a near pristine gas cloud at z ˜ 3.5
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Clarke C
(2020)
Forbidden line diagnostics of photoevaporative disc winds
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kay S
(2020)
The intracluster light as a tracer of the total matter density distribution: a view from simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Frenk C
(2020)
The missing dwarf galaxies of the Local Group
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
Mitchell P
(2020)
Galactic inflow and wind recycling rates in the eagle simulations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davies J
(2020)
The quenching and morphological evolution of central galaxies is facilitated by the feedback-driven expulsion of circumgalactic gas
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Font A
(2020)
The artemis simulations: stellar haloes of Milky Way-mass galaxies
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
Christiansen J
(2020)
Jet feedback and the photon underproduction crisis in simba
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smith R
(2020)
The Cloud Factory I: Generating resolved filamentary molecular clouds from galactic-scale forces
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Henriques B
(2020)
L-GALAXIES 2020: Spatially resolved cold gas phases, star formation, and chemical enrichment in galactic discs
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Lovell M
(2020)
Local group star formation in warm and self-interacting dark matter cosmologies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Yurchenko S
(2020)
ExoMol line lists - XXXVIII. High-temperature molecular line list of silicon dioxide (SiO2)
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
Dobbs C
(2021)
The properties of clusters, and the orientation of magnetic fields relative to filaments, in magnetohydrodynamic simulations of colliding clouds
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
Debattista V
(2020)
Box/peanut-shaped bulges in action space
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
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
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
Trayford J
(2020)
Massive low-surface-brightness galaxies in the eagle simulation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pimpanuwat B
(2020)
Maser flares driven by variations in pumping and background radiation
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haehnelt M
(2020)
Probing delayed-end reionization histories with the 21-cm LAE cross-power spectrum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ilee J
(2020)
Observing protoplanetary discs with the Square Kilometre Array - I. Characterizing pebble substructure caused by forming planets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kukstas E
(2020)
Environment from cross-correlations: connecting hot gas and the quenching of galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Elvis M
(2020)
Q wind code release: a non-hydrodynamical approach to modelling line-driven winds in active galactic nuclei
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
Goyal J
(2020)
A library of self-consistent simulated exoplanet atmospheres
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
Kraljic K
(2020)
The impact of the connectivity of the cosmic web on the physical properties of galaxies at its nodes
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
Davé R
(2020)
Galaxy cold gas contents in modern cosmological hydrodynamic simulations
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
Trayford J
(2020)
Fade to grey: systematic variation of galaxy attenuation curves with galaxy properties 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
Hassan S
(2020)
Testing galaxy formation simulations with damped Lyman-a abundance and metallicity evolution
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/ |