IdAS Solution 1.0

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The Identity Attribute Service (IdAS) is a pluggable framework for the integration and abstraction of identity and relationship data across multiple data sources. IdAS uses the Higgins Context Data Model (CDM), which provides a foundation for integrating, unifying, and sharing identity-related data.

The Identity Attribute Service and supporting Context Provider plugins are typically deployed part of a larger solution, but is useful in its own right.

The Identity Attribute Service (IdAS) provides a Java API that exposes read/write-able data from a wide variety of external data sources that can be "plugged in" to the Context Data Model. (Note that the IdAS API implements but does not define the semantics of the Context Data Model.)

Context Provider plug-ins to IdAS are used to adapt external systems, sites, databases, or other data sources to the IdAS API. These Context Providers are responsible for data transformation between the Higgins model and their own internal data model. Higgins does not constrain the Context Provider's choice of data representation; it can be XML-based, object-oriented, relational, or anything else.

Context Providers can be used to adapt data stores/sources such as:

• Directories: LDAP stores like eDirectory, Active Directory, OpenLDAP, etc.
• Relational databases: used by enterprise apps to store identity/profile information.
• Online social networks (node-edge graphs): data behind Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.
• Messaging systems: email, IM, collaboration client contact/buddy lists.
• Website account "silos": personal profile and preference information stored sites like eBay, Amazon, Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, etc.

Basic Standalone

This simple solution combines IdAS, the JNDI Context Provider, and an LDAP server to provide an identity store which is then accessed by an application.