Bibliographic Information

• Liberty ID-SIS Contact Book Service Specification. Edited by Sampo Kellomäki (France Télécom). Produced by members of the Liberty Alliance Services Group, supporting the Liberty Identity Web Services Framework (ID-WSF). Contributors: Rajeev Angal (Sun), Salima Fazal Karim (France Télécom), Sean Franklin (American Express), Ariel Gordon (France Télécom), Guillaume Lambert (France Télécom), Jukka Kainulainen (Nokia), Kurt Kolok (IEEE-ISTO), and Rob Lockhart (IEEE-ISTO). Version: 1.0-10. Filename: 'draft-liberty-id-sis-cb-v1.0-10.pdf'. 53 pages. See also: (1) liberty-id-sis-cb-cdm-v1.0-10.xsd, a draft XSD Conceptual Data Model Schema that accompanies the Liberty ID-SIS Contact Book Service Specification; (2) liberty-id-sis-cb-proto-v1.0-10.xsd, a draft XSD Service Schema that accompanies the Liberty ID-SIS Contact Book Service Specification.

  Abstract: "The Liberty ID-SIS Contact Book (ID-SIS-CB) specifies a web service offering contact information. ID-SIS-CB is an instance of data-oriented identity web service. ID-SIS-CB is characterized by ability to query and to update attribute data and incorporates from other specifications mechanisms for access control and conveying data validation information and usage directives. Readers of this document should be familiar with SOAP, SAML, XML and vCard. Readers may also wish to familiarize themselves with the Liberty ID-SIS Personal Profile (ID-SIS-PP)."

• Liberty ID-SIS Contact Book Service Implementation Guidelines. Edited by Guillaume Lambert (France Télécom). Contributors: Shin Adachi (NTT), Rajeev Angal (Sun), Salima Fazal Karim (France Télécom), Sean Franklin (American Express), Ariel Gordon (France Télécom), Jukka Kainulainen (Nokia), Sampo Kellomäki (France Télécom), Kurt Kolok (IEEE-ISTO), and Rob Lockhart (IEEE-ISTO). Version: 1.0-06. Filename: 'draft-liberty-id-sis-gl-guidelines-v1.0-15.pdf'. 12 pages.

  Abstract: This document provides implementation guidelines supplemental to the Liberty ID-SIS Contact Book (ID-SIS-CB) service specification. It is also the general guideline for the Liberty ID-SIS Contact Book. The reader is expected to be familiar with the Liberty ID-WSF Web Services Framework Overview, XML, SAML, SOAP, vCard, and the Liberty ID-SIS Personal and Employee Profiles. The Liberty ID-SIS Contact Book is a web service hosted by an application provider and usually discovered via a discovery service. It offers the ability to manage a contact directory. The contact format is based upon the vCard Specifications and may contain several types of information such as telephone numbers and postal and email addresses. An extension mechanism allows other arbitrary data to be included. An ID-SIS-CB service also stores information regarding the Principal him or herself but is not intended to replace the Liberty ID-SIS Personal or Employee Profiles. An ID-SIS-CB service is an instance of a data-oriented identity web service. An ID-SIS-CB service, like all data services, is characterized by an ability to query and update attribute data. It incorporates mechanisms from other specifications for access control and for conveying data validation information and usage directives."

• Liberty ID-SIS Geolocation Service Specification. Edited by Jukka Kainulainen (Nokia Corporation). Produced by members of the Liberty Alliance Services Group, supporting the Liberty Identity Web Services Framework (ID-WSF). Contributors: David Castellanos (Ericsson), Corina Grahm (Ericsson), Rachid Oulahal (France Télécom), and Rob Lockhart (IEEE-ISTO). Version: 1.0-12. Filename: 'draft-liberty-id-sis-gl-v1.0-12.pdf'. 34 pages. See also: (1) liberty-id-sis-gl-v1.0-12.xsd, a draft XSD Schema that accompanies the Liberty ID-SIS Geolocation Service Specification; (2) liberty-id-sis-gl-v1.0-12.wsdl, a draft WSDL Schema that accompanies the Liberty ID-SIS Geolocation Service Specification.

  Abstract: "The Liberty ID-SIS Geolocation (ID-SIS-GL) defines a web service. It offers geolocation information regarding a Principal. ID-SIS-GL is an instance of a data oriented identity web service. ID-SIS-GL is using the Liberty ID-WSF Data Services Template and readers of this document should be familiar with that as well as the rest of the Liberty ID-WSF framework. The geolocation related data is mostly from the Mobile Location Protocol version 3.1 specified by the Open Mobile Alliance and readers should be familiar with that also."

• Liberty ID-SIS Geolocation Service Implementation Guidelines. Edited by Corina Grahm (Ericsson), David Castellanos (Ericsson), and Jukka Kainulainen (Nokia). Contributors: Paul Madsen (Entrust), Rachid Oulahal (France Télécom), and Rob Lockhart (IEEE-ISTO). Version: 1.0-15. Filename: 'draft-liberty-id-sis-gl-guidelines-v1.0-15.pdf'. 19 pages.

  Abstract: This document provides implementation guidelines supplemental to the Liberty ID-SIS Geolocation (ID-SIS-GL) Service Specification. The reader is expected to be familiar with the Liberty ID-WSF Web Services Framework Overview, XML, SAML and SOAP. The Liberty ID-SIS-GL is a web service hosted by an application provider and usually discovered via a discovery service. ID-SIS-GL offers geolocation information including the position of a Principal, speed and direction related information and information related to the quality of the data provided. ID-SIS-GL may also provide geolocation information in a more human readable format (e.g., street, city, region, country). An ID-SIS-GL service is an instance of a data oriented (see ID-WSF Data Services Template) identity web service (see ID Web Services Framework). An ID-SIS-GL service, like all data services, is characterized by the ability to query and update attribute data as well as the ability to subscribe to receive notifications of location information updates. It relies on mechanisms from other specifications for access control and for conveying data validation information and usage directives."

• Liberty ID-SIS Presence Service Specification. Edited by Peter Saint-André (Jabber, Inc). Produced by members of the Liberty Alliance Services Group, supporting the Liberty Identity Web Services Framework (ID-WSF). Contributors: Shin Adachi (NTT), Rajeev Angal (Sun), David Castellanos (Ericsson), Salima Fazal-Karim (France Télécom), Jukka Kainulainen (Nokia), Alessandro Maccari (Nokia), Steve Monroe (AOL), Takao Nakanishi (NTT), Kenji Takahashi (NTT), Yoshitsugu Tsuchiya (NTT), Kurt Kolok (IEEE-ISTO), and Rob Lockhart (IEEE-ISTO). Version: 1.0-08. Filename: 'draft-liberty-id-sis-presence-v1.0-08.pdf'. 15 pages. See also: (1) liberty-id-sis-presence-imps-v1.0-08.xsd, a draft IMPS XSD Schema that accompanies the Liberty ID-SIS Presence Service Specification; (2) liberty-id-sis-presence-simple-v1.0-08.xsd, a draft SIMPLE XSD Schema that accompanies the Liberty ID-SIS Presence Service Specification; (3) liberty-id-sis-presence-xmpp-v1.0-08.xsd, a draft XMPP XSD Schema that accompanies the Liberty ID-SIS Presence Service Specification; (4) imps-presence-non-normative-v1.0-08.xsd, a non-normative XSD Schema that accompanies the Liberty ID-SIS Presence Service Specification.

  Abstract: "This specification defines a web service for presence information within the context of the Liberty Alliance project." [...] "The Liberty ID-WSF Data Services Template Specification introduced the concept of a data service. In general, a data service hosts information about a Principal and provides the ability to interact with that information (e.g., by querying for or modifying the information). A Presence Service implements the data service pattern by hosting information about the Principal's availability, enabling other services to query the Presence Service for that information, and enabling the Principal or other authorized entities to modify the Principal's presence information. The core meaning of 'presence' refers to a Principal's availability for communications over a network. Examples include availability to talk over a traditional or mobile telephony network, chat over an instant messaging (IM) network, and participate in a video conference. In this core sense, presence is a boolean, 'on/off' indicator of network availability. Over time, this core notion of presence has been extended to include other information about the Principal that changes quickly or that affects the Principal's interest in or ability to engage in communications. Examples of such 'extended presence' include the Principal's proximity to or interaction with a user agent (e.g., 'away' or 'do not disturb'), activity (e.g., 'driving'), mood (e.g.,, 'grumpy'), and date/time ranges for availability..."

• Liberty ID-SIS Presence Service Implementation Guidelines. Edited by Justin Uberti (AOL). Contributors: David Castellanos (Ericsson), Salima Fazal-Karim (France Télécom), Jukka Kainulainen (Nokia), Peter Saint-André (Jabber), Yoshitsugu Tsuchiya (NTT), and Rob Lockhart (IEEE-ISTO). Version: 1.0-11. Filename: draft-liberty-id-sis-presence-guidelines-v1.0-11.pdf'. 14 pages.

  Abstract: "This document is an informative guide to implementers of the Liberty Alliance Presence Service, as described in the Liberty ID-SIS Presence Service Specification. It provides basic examples and explanations of how to perform common tasks when using this specification. The reader is expected to be familiar with the Liberty ID-WSF Web Services Framework Overview, XML, SOAP, and presence services in general."

From the Announcement

Liberty Alliance, the global consortium for open federated identity standards and identity-based Web services, today announced the release of interface specifications that support presence, contact book and geo-location Web services. Deployable on Liberty's Identity Web Services Framework (ID-WSF), these specifications offer new application functionality to enterprises and service providers, as well as privacy, personalization and security benefits to users.

"Identity is a requirement for successful Web services. Unless identity can be established and secured, no enterprise is going to be comfortable using Web services beyond their organizational borders," said George Goodman, president of Liberty Alliance and director of Intel's Platform Virtualization Lab. "As a base framework, Liberty ID-WSF provides a proven blueprint for companies to extend their architectures to a federated Web services model, allowing trusted partners, customers and suppliers to access key resources and information across corporate boundaries. These new service interface specifications make this framework even more valuable for delivering more personalized services, with strong security and privacy mechanisms."

Contact Book, Geo-location and Presence represent the first service interface specifications developed by the Services Group, an expert group within the Liberty Alliance that develops specifications that exploit Liberty ID-WSF. The interfaces specified by this group are narrowly defined to address the needs of specific industries, applications and business models, in a rapid development fashion.

The three service interfaces are designed to function individually or in a seamless unified fashion. As with ID Personal Profile and ID Employee Profile, previously released service interfaces available with the first version of ID- WSF, each has been created to enhance user control of invoked Web services, in a privacy-respecting manner. Each has been created to enhance user control of invoked Web services, in a privacy-respecting manner.

For example, a consumer might use the Geo-location service via a mobile phone when looking for movie locations. The service provider simply "recognizes" where the user is situated and delivers the info. The user may then choose to let her friends know where she is via the Contact Book service and send out a single message to 20 people. The Contact Book service may then invoke Presence to determine how the user's friends want to be contacted (i.e. via mobile phone, laptop, etc.). Some may indicate they want to be contacted via mobile phone. Others may want to be contacted via laptop. Presence takes care of sending the messages to the designated devices. Contact book could also be used to invoke Geo-location if the user wants to reach friends within a certain radius.

From a personalization standpoint, these services offer rich end user benefits in being able to directly affect and control information provided. From a privacy standpoint, checks and balances are also in place. For example, with the Geo-location service, native privacy control measures exist which offer user-friendly interfaces and control. Through a user Interaction Service, a Location Provider can request permission to disclose a user's location on the fly. This reassures users that sensitive data is properly protected.

"Web service application interface standards are an important step in helping organizations deploy more secure and functional Web services," said Ray Wagner, vice president, Gartner Research. "These specifications could allow service providers to offer users more options for managing identity information within a secure Web services framework."

The three service interface specifications are currently available in draft form. As with all technical specifications from Liberty Alliance, the public is invited to review and comment on the specifications. Additional information on the specifications is also available in application use cases.

The Liberty Identity Web Services Framework (ID-WSF) standard supports the development of Web services. Web services typically require a number of standard functions, including authentication, security, service discovery, and the communication of service policy. Liberty ID-WSF provides such functionality, allowing the development of secure, privacy-protected, rich and interoperable Web services.

Liberty Alliance is an alliance of more than 150 companies, non-profit and government organizations from around the globe. The consortium is committed to developing an open standard for federated network identity that supports all current and emerging network devices. Federated identity offers businesses, governments, employees and consumers a more convenient and secure way to control identity information in today's digital economy, and is a key component in driving the use of e-commerce, personalized data services, as well as Web-based services. Membership is open to all commercial and non-commercial organizations.

Principal References

• Citations for the three new Liberty Alliance interface specifications and corresponding implementation guidelines documents are provided above.
• Announcement 2005-04-12: "Liberty Alliance Releases Interface Specifications for Identity-based Web Services: Presence, Contact Book and Geo-Location. Service Interfaces Offer Privacy, Personalization And Security Benefits To Users."
• Liberty Alliance ID-SIS 1.0 Specifications
• ID-SIS ZIP file distribution
• Liberty Alliance Identity Web Services Framework (ID-WSF)
• Liberty Alliance Project:
  • Liberty Alliance Project web site
  • Liberty Alliance FAQ document
  • Liberty specifications index
  • Liberty Phase 2 Version 1.0 Specifications Archive
  • Web Services Applications Brief: Liberty Alliance ID-SIS Geo-Location
  • Liberty ID-WSF Web Services Framework Overview
  • Liberty Featured Verticals
  • About Liberty Alliance
  • Liberty Alliance white papers
  • Liberty Alliance developer resources
• Earlier Liberty Alliance news:
  • "Liberty Identity Web Services Framework (ID-WSF) Supports SAML Version 2.0." News story 2005-02-11.
  • "Liberty Alliance Federated Identity Consortium Gains Momentum with New Members." News story 2004-10-21.
  • "Industry Shows Heightened Interest in Federated Identity-Based Web Services." News story 2004-05-26.
  • "Liberty's Federated Identity Project Supported by Intel and Six New Global Alliances." News story 2004-03-19.
  • "Liberty Publishes Federated Identity Documents on Mobile Deployments and Identity Theft."
  • "Liberty Alliance Publishes Final Phase 2 Specifications and Previews Phase 3."
  • "Liberty Alliance Publishes Business Requirements and Guidelines for Identity Federation."
  • "Liberty Alliance Releases Phase 2 Specifications for Federated Network Identity."
  • "Government Agencies Join Liberty Alliance to Support Digital Identity Standards."
  • "Sun ONE Identity Server 6.0 Supports Liberty Alliance and SAML Specifications."
  • "Liberty Alliance Releases Draft Version 1.1 Specifications for Public Review."
• "Liberty Alliance Specifications for Federated Network Identification and Authorization" - Main reference page.