The Interface for Metadata Access Points (IF-MAP) is an open specification for a client/server protocol developed by the

Trusted Computing Group The Trusted Computing Group is a group formed in 2003 as the successor to the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance which was previously formed in 1999 to implement Trusted Computing concepts across personal computers. Members include Intel, AMD, IB ...

(TCG) as one of the core protocols of the Trusted Network Connect (TNC)

open architecture Open architecture is a type of computer architecture or software architecture intended to make adding, upgrading, and swapping components with other computers easy. For example, the IBM PC, Amiga 2000 and Apple IIe have an open architecture supp ...

. IF-MAP provides a common interface between the Metadata Access Point (MAP), a database server acting as a clearinghouse for information about security events and objects, and other elements of the TNC architectur

The IF-MAP protocol defines a publish/subscribe/search mechanism with a set of identifiers and data types.

History

The IF-MAP protocol was first published by the TCG on April 28, 2008. Originally, the IF-MAP specification was developed to support data sharing across various vendor’s devices and applications for network security. The specification has also been adopted for additional use cases of data-sharing including physical security. The 2.0 version of the IF-MAP spec separated the base protocol from the metadata definitions that define how different types of information are represented. The goal in separating the base protocol from the metadata definitions within the specification was to allow the specification to be adopted across other technologies (such as

cloud computing Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to International Organization for ...

industrial control systems An industrial control system (ICS) is an electronic control system and associated instrumentation used for industrial process control. Control systems can range in size from a few modular panel-mounted controllers to large interconnected and int ...

, or

smart grid The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is main ...

) to leverage their existing data models within the MAP framework. Version 2.1 of the IF-MAP spec was published on May 7, 2012. The primary new feature of IF-MAP 2.1 is that the IF-MAP identifier space became extensible. A

reference implementation In the software development process, a reference implementation (or, less frequently, sample implementation or model implementation) is a program that implements all requirements from a corresponding specification. The reference implementation ...

is available under

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Google Code Google Developers (previously Google Code) , application programming interfaces (APIs), and technical resources. The site contains documentation on using Google developer tools and APIs—including discussion groups and blogs for developers usin ...

repository.omapd
on

google code Google Developers (previously Google Code) , application programming interfaces (APIs), and technical resources. The site contains documentation on using Google developer tools and APIs—including discussion groups and blogs for developers usin ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em * Lawton, George
“New Protocol Improves Interaction among Networked Devices and Applications”
“Computing Now”,

IEEE Computer Society IEEE Computer Society (commonly known as the Computer Society or CS) is a technical society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) dedicated to computing, namely the major areas of hardware, software, standards and people ...

. * Reed, Brad
“NAC group expands its scope”
“

Network World International Data Group (IDG, Inc.) is an American market intelligence and demand generation company focused on the technology industry. IDG, Inc.'s mission is centered around supporting the technology industry through research, data, market ...

Magazine”, IDG Publishing. * Beliles, Robert
“Technology for Securing a “Seat” at the Executive Table”
“Security Magazine”, BNP Media.
“IF-MAP Based Intercloud Testbed In Planning”“Securing SCADA and Control Networks”
*Messmer, Ellen

“Network World Magazine”, IDG Publishing.

External links

IF-MAP resources at Trusted Computing Group

omapd Opensource IF-MAP Server
on

Computer network security Trusted computing Network protocols Data transmission Free and open-source software