InCommon Federation Protocol and Software Guidelines

InCommon recommends and supports the following protocols, software systems, and versions.

Protocol	Level of Support
SAML 2.0	Supported (see the FAQ). Also, see the FAQ on SAML and Shibboleth relationship.
SAML 1.1 (legacy)	Supported (but not preferred)

Software	Level of Support
Shibboleth System 2.x and minor releases	Supported*
Shibboleth System 1.3.x and minor releases	Supported, but not recommended for new installations. Instead use Shibboleth 2.0. Note that Shibboleth 1.3 will no longer be supported after June 30, 2010.
Shibboleth System 1.2 and earlier releases	No longer supported
Other SAML-based, federated identity management systems	Other software systems  interoperable with SAML 1.1 and the Shibboleth architecture specifications (Sep 2005) may be used; however, such systems are not actively supported by InCommon customer support. Active support for systems other than Shibboleth will be considered as participant needs arise.

*"Supported" means that InCommon has tested the software and that Shibboleth works properly within the ordinary operational expectations of the federation and that the federation will supply specific instructions on configuration. For community peer support (unguaranteed), join the Shibboleth users list or use whatever support channels are associated with the federation software you are using. InCommon Affiliates provide consulting and other fee-based support options. InCommon does not offer per-site consultation.

InCommon provides accurate metadata for all supported software systems listed above. Changes to supported versions are announced on this Web page and are made under the advisement of the InCommon Technical Advisory Committee, whose members are listed on our about page.

For more information about these guidelines, contact:incommon-admin@incommonfederation.org

For more information on the Shibboleth system, specification, patches, and upgrades, visit:
shibboleth.internet2.edu or join the shibboleth-announce email list.