The Future of TestShib

[Nicole Harris]

Dear All

We've added an announcement to the Shibboleth website on the future of 
TestShib: http://shibboleth.net/community/news/20120727.html.

Since 2006, the Shibboleth team has run TestShib2 on a best efforts 
basis, offering the community a place to test entities before deploying 
in a
production environment.  Many of you have taken advantage of this 
service,  with 5863 entities currently registered to use TestShib.  The 
current implementation of testshib has reached the end of its useful 
life -  the service is now experiencing reliability problems, the 
current hosting environment for the service is not ideal and the ways in 
which metadata is managed, processed and used has matured beyond the 
environment provided by TestShibTwo.

The team recognise the importance of a test service and believe it to be 
a valuable future product for Shibboleth.  A new testshib is highlighted 
as an  important service to offer in the operational plan for Shibboleth 
this coming academic year and we will be discussing ways to implement a 
new and improved service internally.  There are ways in which you can 
help us.  To move TestShib from our planned work to the committed work 
list we need to be able to increase the number of funded developer hours 
for the project.  If you use and appreciate the testshib service, please 
consider joining the Shibboleth Consortium as a member or donating to 
the project.  Donations can be recognised on our website or anonymous if 
preferred.

For more information about joining the Shibboleth Consortium please 
visit:http://shibboleth.net/consortium/join.html  or 
emailcontact at shibboleth.net.

If you would like to contribute ideas for a future testshib environment 
please join the discussion on the shibboleth users mailing list:
http://shibboleth.net/community/lists.html.

With many thanks

Nicole

-- 
Shibboleth Consortium Manager
5 Lancaster Place
London WC2E 7EN