ACOnet Identity Federation
The ACOnet Identity Federation makes it easier to offer shared services across the whole federation. This is accomplished by extending the scope of an electronic identity, issued by any member of the federation, to be valid across the whole federation.
ACOnet's Identity Federation Policy specifies the relevant procedures and practices. Complementary technology profiles are describing implementation of the policy in terms of specific technologies.
ACOnet maintains the components necessary for operating the federation and also serves as registrar for federation participants. Furthermore, ACOnet offers support to participants regarding operational as well as security issues.
Membership categories
There are two categories of members in ACOnet's Identity Federation:
- Identity Providers (IdPs) provide the required infrastructure for the authentication of users.
Membership as IdP - Service Providers (SPs) provide services to other federation members or allow access to resources.
Membership as SP
Any ACOnet participant may act as both IdP and SP at the same time. Entities external to ACOnet may join as SPs, thus offering goods or services.
Fees
Currently, participation in the ACOnet Identity Federation is free of charge both for IdPs and for SPs. Any changes regarding fees need to be announced by July 1st of the preceeding year.