ABSTRACT
In Chapter 4, the fundamental aspects of creating a secure infrastructure were described. It began with encrypting communications, which has a very long history, although the specific encryption methods now actually used are quite recent. Encryption itself is not sufficient. It is critical to establish authentication and authorization mechanisms for users and resources. Public key infrastructure was described, with digital certificates and certificate authorities, and communication protocols using certificates. Collectively, this is the principal way of obtaining secure authenticated communication in the Internet. Grid computing uses Internet protocols whether using the actual Internet, which is most likely, or dedicated high performance networks. Therefore, the Internet security mechanisms described in Chapter 4 are directly applicable and are used. However, there are aspects in Grid computing that do not exist in general Internet communications, and need to be addressed for Grid computing security infrastructure. This chapter will explore these aspects and how security is specifically implemented in a Grid computing environment.
