Session Date/Time: 11 May 2022 19:30

SCIM

Summary

The SCIM Working Group held a virtual interim meeting to discuss the current status of core document work, the group's GitHub workflow, and two individual drafts for potential adoption: multi-value filtering and SCIM events. Key discussions focused on the strategy for evolving SCIM 2.0 (RFCs 7643/7644) without breaking changes, clarifying IETF document process for new work, and exploring the technical merits and community interest in the proposed extensions.

Key Discussion Points

Core Document Status and Evolution Strategy:
- Danny provided an update on the schema and protocol work, noting that RFCs 7643 and 7644 have been converted to Markdown (using cramdown) and uploaded to the group's GitHub repository. This conversion aims to facilitate editing and increase accessibility for contributors.
- The editors are focused on addressing new features as standalone drafts initially. The discussion around SCIM 2.0, 2.1, or 3.0 versioning will be deferred to avoid hindering immediate progress and adoption, emphasizing an approach of non-breaking changes and extensions where possible.
- Jeremy offered to review the existing schema for completeness and consistency based on his experience with SCIM 1.0 client implementation.
GitHub Workflow and IETF Process Clarification:
- Discussion clarified the distinct roles of the GitHub repository, the IETF Data Tracker, and the working group's mailing list.
- The GitHub repository serves as a working area for authors, allowing for collaboration and issue tracking, but it is "semi-official" until drafts are formally published via the Data Tracker.
- The Data Tracker is the source for official draft snapshots intended for wider review.
- The mailing list remains the official channel for on-record feedback and group discussion.
- It was noted that current drafts in the GitHub repository (e.g., ietf-scim-core-schema) need to be renamed to reflect their individual draft status (e.g., draft-danny-name-scim-core-schema) until officially adopted by the working group.
- Access to modify content in the GitHub repository is limited to designated editors, while the public can pull, create issues, or submit pull requests.
Draft Discussion: Multi-value Filtering (draft-hunt-skim-mv)
- Phil Hunt presented his draft on multi-value filtering, which addresses a need for more advanced filtering capabilities.
- Concern was raised about the level of wider community interest and commitment to implement and review the draft, given its prior history.
- Danny expressed strong interest from an implementer's perspective, citing the clear need for this feature in provisioning scenarios, and offered to encourage partners to review the draft.
Draft Discussion: SCIM Events (draft-hunt-skim-events)
- Phil Hunt introduced his SCIM Events draft, which proposes standardizing SCIM-related events.
- He emphasized the need to support diverse transmission methods (e.g., SET for point-to-point, message buses like Kafka for within-domain event coordination) to accommodate different use cases, rather than prescribing a single method. This approach aims to standardize the event format while providing flexibility for infrastructure choices, drawing lessons from previous IETF working groups (e.g., SET).
- Danny raised the subject of asynchronous operations within SCIM, suggesting it might warrant a dedicated focus. The ensuing discussion explored various asynchronous use cases, such as coordinating UI workflows versus reconciling bulk provisioning transactions, and the implications for designing point-to-point versus central receiver models.

Decisions and Action Items

Co-chair Aaron will rename the draft repositories on GitHub (e.g., from ietf-scim-api to draft-danny-name-scim-api) to align with IETF individual draft naming conventions until formal adoption.
Danny will post the updated GitHub links for the core documents to the SCIM mailing list.
The chairs will issue a "call for interest" on the mailing list for draft-hunt-skim-mv (multi-value filtering), soliciting interest in authoring, implementing, and reviewing the draft.
The chairs will issue a "call for interest" on the mailing list for draft-hunt-skim-events (SCIM Events), soliciting interest in authoring, implementing, and reviewing the draft.
The chairs will ensure that draft-hunt-skim-mv and draft-hunt-skim-events can be mapped to the current SCIM WG charter use cases.

Next Steps

Working group participants are encouraged to engage in discussions on the mailing list regarding the core documents, the GitHub workflow, and the proposed drafts.
Respond to the upcoming "calls for interest" for draft-hunt-skim-mv and draft-hunt-skim-events on the mailing list.
The next formal working group meeting is scheduled for IETF 114 in Philadelphia. Informal group huddles or asynchronous work on GitHub are encouraged in the interim.