Making Bubbles
The concept of "federation bubbles" involves cohesive networks with clear boundaries for account provisioning and federation technologies. Key technologies include SCIM, X.509 certificates, and federation protocols for user management. Emphasizes on interoperability challenges and nuanced solutions.
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The article discusses the concept of "federation bubbles" introduced by the author about a year ago. These bubbles represent internally-cohesive networks of systems with clear boundaries for account provisioning and federation technologies. The author emphasizes that building bubbles does not require new technology but rather a rethinking of how existing technologies are utilized. Key technologies mentioned include SCIM for propagating user objects, X.509 certificates for user information transfer, and federation protocols for just-in-time provisioning. Within a bubble, each user has a single account connected to various applications using technologies like OpenID Connect and OAuth 2. The article also addresses the need for a semantic layer to discuss dynamic accounts in distributed systems within bubbles. It highlights the importance of recording the source of information in an account and the challenges of addressing the dynamic nature of federation domains. The author concludes that achieving interoperability in this space will require a nuanced approach involving multiple technologies and decisions tailored to specific contexts.
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