**MACE Call 13-September-2010**

**Attending**

RL "Bob" Morgan, U. Washington (chair)

Ken Klingenstein, Internet2

Renee Shuey, Penn State U.

Keith Hazelton, U. Wisc. - Madison

Scott Cantor, The Ohio State U.

Michael Gettes, independent

Steven Carmody, Brown U.

Leif Johansson, SUNET/NORDUnet

Jim Jokl, U. Virginia

Renee Frost, Internet2

David Wasley, independent

Von Welch, independent

Tom Barton, U. Chicago

Scotty Logan, Stanford

Paul Hill, independent

Mark Poepping, CMU

Ann West, Internet2

Nate Klingenstein, Internet2

Steve Olshansky, Internet2 (scribe)

NEXT CALL: 27-September-2010

*New Action Items**

[AI] (Ken) will draft a one-pager about what MACE does and what questions it has, for review by MACE, as a discussion guide with Internet2 leadership.

[AI] (Ken and ReneeF) will look at the Fall I2MM schedule to see if there is an opportunity for a F2F meeting between MACE and Internet2 leadership.

*Carryover Action Items*

[AI] (Scott) will send a note to MACE about potentially spinning up a new working group to address his AdvanceCAMP AI: Write Developers Guide to Federating Applications.

[AI] (All) if interested in supporting MoonShot activities, send mail to Ken and subscribe to appropriate lists TBD. There may be some funding available to support travel, e.g. to IETF meetings...

[AI] (Ken) will distribute a draft requirements framework for VO support engagement

[AI] (David) will contact GSA for an update on the approval process for InCommon Silver.

[AI] (ReneeS) will revisit the list of potential new MACE members on the list.

[AI] (All) Send input to Ken about how the InCommon cert service ought to be packaged - i.e. amendment to existing InCommon contract, or other.

[AI] (Ken) will revise the mission statement based upon feedback received on the call.

[AI] (Ken) will send out info on DHS secure online transactions

[AI] (Ken) will follow up on a MACE/AMSAC call.

[AI] (Ken) will follow up with Kuali/Rice about I2MI collaboration.

[AI] (Ken) will draft a catalyst doc, covering the key items to be addressed in advising VOs how to use our infrastructure.

[AI] (Leif) will contact Ken/Steven/Tom about potential overlaps between the SDCI proposal and projects in the EU.

[AI] (Leif) will discuss the IDTrust meeting on the PKNG list, seeking feedback.

[AI] (Jens) will speak to an Eduroam rep about communicating with Educause.

[AI] (Ken) will draft and circulate a letter to Rice leadership, requesting input to roadmaps and use cases, and to ensure our projects with Kuali projects are aligned with their high-level strategic direction.

[AI] (Nate) will distribute information to the list about upcoming tactical issues facing MACE

[AI] (All) send Bamboo IAM comments to Tom ASAP for coordination.

[AI] (All) interested in participating in the international collaboration activity contact RL "Bob."

[AI] (RL "Bob") will contact a representative of Kuali Rice about coordinating a call.

[AI] (Ken and Mark) will distribute some information on trust anchors in the context of dynamic network configuration in GENI testbed, as well as for general access control.

[AI] (Ken) will circulate some meeting notes from the last TERENA/ REFEDS meetings.

**Discussion**

1. MACE

relevance and role

to I2 work

to others - open source, etc...

membership/leadership

relationship to I2 and AMSAC

futures

2. Working groups

a. relationship to other working groups

InCommon, ECAM, EMC2, etc

b. existing WG - DIR, PKI, grouper, paccman, others

c. Planned - best apps practices, others

d. Gaps?

There has always been an attempt to balance MACE's independence with its obligations to provide guidance and direction for the Internet2 Middleware Initiative (I2MI).

The world has obviously changed over the last decade, and middleware is evolving. MACE's role has traditionally been that of independent arbiter, with no political agendas. This has been an important factor in its substantial credibility in the community.

MACE has several key elements:

1. Guiding force for I2MI and its various projects, products, and working groups.

2. Information exchange

3. The nexus of integration of IdM and open source projects.

4. Providing input into various international discussions with various NRENs engaged in related work, e.g. ECAM, TERENA.

It was observed that MACE has been very successful in the sense that Shib and InCommon have matured to the point that they can stand on their own. Perhaps MACE's mission should evolve to more fully embrace access control, as the next big issue that campuses are grappling with. Since

Group management in general, and Grouper in particular, is gaining significant traction and mindshare, both in the US and internationally -- how much of it is or could be interrealm? Could or should Grouper be the foundation for future emphasis on access control tools?

Q: Is the push to support access management product-specific, or generic (product-independent)?

A: Really more generic, although institutions often have product-specific perspectives and needs since they are using commercial tools (e.g. Oracle).

Q: Should the call time change to make it more convenient for international participants?

A: Perhaps worth examining, although finding a time that works for the majority will be a challenge, as always.

With the new NSF SDCI grant funding, and its focus on eScience and VOs, how can or should MACE change to meet those needs? It was observed that VOs will derive value from the I2MI work only to the extent that it is adopted by participating campuses.

Given that there are ~80 Internet2 members who have not joined InCommon, and many InCommon participants who are not Internet2 members, how does this impact MACE's direction?

How can MACE best work with and complement the work of other organizations, e.g. NACUBO and Educause?

Q: Should MACE include a member from Internet2 (besides Ken and Renee) or from AMSAC?

A: Perhaps so, as this would enhance communication...

Consensus on the call was that there would be significant value in engaging in a collective discussion with AMSAC and Internet2 leadership about MACE's role and future. The suggestion was made that some of this happen F2F at the Fall I2MM, with remote participants attending by videoconference. It was also suggested that this conversation happen among MACE at the I2MM dinner instead of dinner theater.

[AI] (Ken) will draft a one-pager about what MACE does and what questions it has, for review by MACE, as a discussion guide with Internet2 leadership.

[AI] (Ken and ReneeF) will look at the Fall I2MM schedule to see if there is an opportunity for a F2F meeting between MACE and Internet2 leadership.

- Membership/leadership

There was a wide-ranging discussion of this topic...

The role of IT architects and the changing landscape (e.g. the cloud) was addressed in the context of the evolving context within which MACE operates. Perhaps it would be good to share MACE's thinking on this with Gartner and Burton, toward future interaction with them.

Social networking and outreach were noted as things that might merit closer examination as MACE evolves...