DPMF: A policy management framework for heterogeneous authorization systems in grid environments

Issue title: Content management and delivery through P2P-based content networks

Guest editors: Giancarlo Fortino and Carlo Mastroianni

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Yu, Chiu-Man | Ng, Kam-Wing^{; *}

Affiliations: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Tel.: +852 26098417; Fax: +852 26035024; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: In order to enable an open Grid environment to support organized resource sharing between multiple heterogeneous Virtual Organizations (VOs), we need to tackle the challenges of dynamic membership of VOs and trust relationships between the VOs. We propose a Dynamic Policy Management Framework (DPMF), a Conflict Analysis with Partial Information (CAPI) mechanism, and a heterogeneous authorization policy management mechanism to resolve the problems. DPMF groups VOs deploying the same model of authorization systems together to form a virtual cluster. Policy management is divided into inter-cluster heterogeneous policy management, and intra-cluster homogeneous policy management. The CAPI mechanism is developed to provide an approach of policy conflict analysis in open environments without complete policy information. The main idea of CAPI is to generate substitution policies to replace the unknown policy information. The heterogeneous policy management mechanism deals with authorization between VOs of heterogeneous authorization systems.

Keywords: Grid, authorization, policy management

DOI: 10.3233/MGS-2009-0101

Journal: Multiagent and Grid Systems , vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 235-263, 2009