From: Lauren Rotman <lauren@es.net>
Subject: Update on DOEGrids CA service transition
Date: February 22, 2012 11:36:58 AM PST
To: pma@doegrids.org
Cc: Gregory Bell <grbell@es.net>, Ruth Pordes <ruth@fnal.gov>, Von Welch <vwelch@indiana.edu>

Dear colleagues,
In early December 2011, we sent out some initial information to you regarding the forthcoming service transition of the DOEGrids Certificate Authority (CA). As described, ESnet will - in the next year – be fully transitioning support for the DOEGrids certificate service to a service operated by the Open Science Grid (OSG), which has been a long time collaborator of ESnet’s in the areas of identity and security.

Since our last communication in December, OSG has made significant progress in piloting a commercial service operated by DigiCert, a well-respected U.S.-based vendor partner. To date, testing has been focused on the suitability of the DigiCert CA from a technical and policy standpoint to satisfy OSG's certificate requirements. In particular, the pilot has tested the DigiCert certificates, registration interfaces, management APIs and use in community applications including data, job, database, and other services that virtual organizations regularly use. No major issues have been revealed.

The commercial CA pilot has now officially concluded, and based on the results, the pilot team is working with the OSG Executive Team on its final analysis and recommendations. At the end of February, ESnet, OSG and appropriate DOE program managers will meet to review and finalize next steps for transitioning the service over the next 12 months. We anticipate in the next phase, OSG will undertake a detailed planning process for deployment of its new CA and commence this deployment in Spring 2012.

Many of you have been in touch with ESnet and OSG to discuss your collaboration’s specific certificate requirements. In addition to these one-on-one conversations, OSG will be hosting a one-hour session during its annual All-Hands meeting in mid-March to present the results of the pilot, the status of the implementation plans, and give the Registration Agents (RAs) and system administrators information about what they will need to do during and after the transition.

If you are interested in attending the meeting, please contact Ruth Pordes (ruth@fnal.gov), OSG Executive Director or Von Welch (vwelch@indiana.edu), lead of the OSG CA transition program. 

Ruth and Von together with our ESnet staff are also available at anytime for individual conversations about the service to ensure you are fully informed about the options available to your organization or collaboration. Please visit our DOEGrids Service transition webpage for up to date information and for appropriate contact information for any questions you might have.  We will also continue to send updates as they become available.  

Thanks!
Lauren Rotman

Lauren Rotman
ESnet Partnerships and Outreach
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
lauren@es.net
(office) 510-495-8064
(mobile) 202-251-2997