LSST Security Realms

This page is part of Security.

LSST infrastructure has three major levels, from a security point of view:

1. Observatory & base station
2. Archive center & internal processing
3. Data access interfaces for the public and scientific applications

As you go down the list, each level, in comparison to the one before it:

• Is less critical to real-time science operation
• Is more visible to the scientific community and public
• Has more users and greater exposure to security risks

Realm	Downstream	Endurance	Users
Mountaintop	Base Facility via dedicated network	??? Days	mountaintop admins: administration base facility admins: infrastructure diagnostics staff scientists: science diagnostics
Base Facility	Archive Center via Internet (high-bandwidth, specially provisioned link)	??? Days	base facility admins: administration mountaintop admins: diagnostics archive center admins: diagnostics staff scientists: science diagnostics
Archive Center	Data Access Centers via Internet (high-bandwidth) or local network	unlimited	archive center admins: administration data access center admins: diagnostics staff scientists: science diagnostics
Data Access Center	Public & Science Access via Internet	unlimited	admins: administration public users: data query, implicit computation science users: data query, personal workspace, explicit computation applications: data query, partitioned workspace, explicit computation

Definitions

Realm

A logical or physical site, with its own security requirements.

Downstream

The realms that connect to this realm; this realm must be protected from "backwash" of problems and attacks in the downstream realm.

Endurance

How long can this realm function without support from the downstream realms? For example, how soon will the mountaintop buffers fill up without export to the base station?

Users

Roles that have access to this realm. In practice, individuals may fill multiple roles, such as both base station administrator and archive center admin, but we must make sure that if their account in one role is compromised, it does not affect upstream roles (and preferably not downstream roles either).

Questions

1. Mountaintop & base facility: Are admins for the two facilities the same people? Do the facilities share user accounts? Is there a firewall between them?
2. Should Archive Center and Primary Processing be a single security realm?