FAQ for the PIC.edu Demo
- Our setup is simple: The PIC Working Group has installed and configured an Openfire Jabber
server. The server is deployed within Internet2 and is openly available to participants anywhere across the Internet. In fact, Internet2 members who are not physically onsite are welcome and encouraged to join the demo, as it provides an alternative way to participate in the member meeting, especially for streaming sessions. (How do we know participants are Internet2 members?)
- The PIC.edu demonstration server will be available throughout the Member Meeting. Participants are invited to use it throughout the meeting, and several groupchat rooms (which correspond to meeting rooms at the hotel) have been created in advance.
- The PIC.edu project aims to parallel Internet2's previous SIP.edu project, and will occurr in several stages:
- Stage one of the project focuses on facilitating deployments with currently available software and technology:
- The project has already, and will continue to, incorporate the feedback of Internet2 members
- Previous surveys have shown the importance of open source, open standards, protocols, and interoperability
- Overall, the project will keep a goal of interoperability across different deployment
- The project will recommend server software with open source/open standards
- The project will develop a cookbook for Internet2 campus style deployments
- The project will focus on the fundamental services - Chat, GroupChat, Simple Presence, and will investigate identity management
- Some experimental features will be investigated, such as historical logging
- Stage two of the project will incorporate rich presence (such as calendar integration, location awareness) and enhanced features (voice and video)
- Federated identity will continue to be incorporated, especially at the application(service) level
- Mobility will be take on more significance, including spatial and network location awareness
- Experimental features will be investigated
- Integration with enterprise identity management systems will be attempted
- Stage three of the project will continue to evolve PIC towards being a pervasive application and towards anytime/anywhere functionality
- Work will shift from configuring and deploying currently available services and features ...
- ... to the invention and development of new features and strategies
- If you have asked this question, then you have already see the value in incorporating federated identity. This is a area for significant development in the PIC.edu project, and there are already some ways to incorporate federated identity into account generation. Identity assurance is also a good reason to deploy this service at your home institution.
- For now, we don't have a solution, so we can only confirm member identities by trusting the information they have provided in their profile.
- If you find this interesting, you should join the PIC Working Group! Please contact wg-pic@internet2.edu or tcallah@umich.edu.
Tell me more about this demo of the PIC.edu project
What is the PIC.edu project?
How do we know participants are Internet2 members ?
- We hope there is interest in making the PIC.edu server available for future meetings. As features and configurations mature, we hope to expand upon options presented in the demonstration.
- If there is enough interest, the PIC.edu server may even be made available full time. However, the PIC group encourages Internet2 institutions to deploy their own PIC.edu server for many reasons (and it is very easy to do!) If you are interested in seeing this service persist for Internet2 collaboration, similar to the Internet2 Wiki, please let us know at picdemo@internet2.edu.
What about future demonstrations? Will the service be available in between Member Meetings?
The PIC Working Group wg-pic@internet2.edu
