This page contains information about the Shibboleth federations.

Federation Structure

The federations are arranged according to the onion principle (nested circles), as they build on each other and enclose each other:

1. eduGAIN (Global): The top level. It connects national research and education networks worldwide.
2. National Federations (e.g. DFN-AAI, SWITCHaai, SURFconext): These are members of eduGAIN. DFN-AAI is the German instance, while SWITCHaai (Switzerland) and SURFconext (Netherlands) are the respective national counterparts.
3. IdM.nrw (Regional): A nationwide federation for universities in North Rhine-Westphalia. It operates within the framework of the DFN-AAI, but offers specific services and trust structures for the NRW region..
4. RWTH Federation (Institutional): The local level of RWTH Aachen University. It is part of IdM.nrw and is therefore automatically integrated into DFN-AAI and eduGAIN.

Visualizing the Federation Structure

The graphic shows how local and regional units are embedded in larger national and global structures:

• RWTH Federation lies at the core.
• IdM.nrw encompasses RWTH Aachen University (and other universities in North Rhine-Westphalia).
• DFN-AAI forms the German framework for these structures.
• eduGAIN is the global umbrella organization that also includes international partners such as SWITCHaai and SURFconext.

This illustrates that an identity at RWTH Aachen University (through interconnection) can theoretically be used worldwide for services connected to eduGAIN.

Links

• IdM.nrw
• About DFN AAI
• Service providers in the DFN-AAI Federation
• Metadata Explorer Tool - DFN AAI
• Metadata Explorer Tool - eduGAIN
• DFN eduGAIN participation
• eduGAIN.org