Grid Security Through Delegation of Roles

Grid delegation is the process by which a user endows a grid-enabled program with the authority to the requisition and use of computational resources on behalf of the user. The large and geographically distributed, dynamic, heterogeneous and scalable grid environment poses unique delegation requirements. Presently the standard mechanisms to guide grid delegation are inadequate in their support for delegation. Since Globus tool kit-supported credential delegation is inadequate in a dynamic grid environment, a new conceptual model is required to effectively formulate grid delegation requirements. Viewing grid delegation as an authorization issue, we present a flexible framework called role-based grid delegation model (RB-GDM) for delegating access rights through roles in grids. It supports inter-domain and intra-domain role-based delegation in grids