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IntroductionThe SWISh (South West Implementation of Shibboleth) project was proposed by the University of Exeter in response to the JISC Circular 11/04: Core Middleware - Early Adopters, in which institutions were invited to become early adopters of the next generation of tools to manage access to online resources. The project, a collaboration between the Library and I.T. Services, is being funded by the JISC to become an early adopter of Shibboleth technology - a possible replacement, in the future, for the ATHENS Devolved Authentication system currently in use at the University of Exeter. Background to ProjectDuring 2004 the University of Exeter implemented several initiatives regarding middleware and authentication/authorisation systems for access to electronic resources. Building on the LDAP directory service that was first installed in 2002, I.T. Services developed a new schema involving the adoption of the eduPerson, together with a new Exeter schema to reflect local requirements. This revised infrastructure then enabled the installation of Athens DA – moving from a self-registration scheme to a system that utilised existing login credentials, thus simplifying access to electronic resources. The middleware infrastructure, together with the experience of successfully implementing Athens DA, provides a solid foundation upon which to investigate true ‘single sign on’ and the implementation of a solution based on Shibboleth is a natural extension of this work. A successful Shibboleth implementation would offer a means by which campus identity and access management infrastructures could be utilised to authenticate individuals and then pass the information about them to resource sites, both within and without the institution, thus enabling those sites to authorise access as appropriate.
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University of Exeter Library & Information Service, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon, UK EX4
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