Design Goals#
Attention
The official support end-of-life (EOL) date for Gluu Server 2.4.4 is December 31, 2018. Starting January 1, 2019, no further security updates or bug-fixes will be provided for Gluu Server 2.X. We strongly recommend upgrading to the newest version.
Free Open Source Identity Suite#
One of the things that has made access management difficult for organizations is that there is no one tool you can deploy to solve even average requirements. The Gluu Server provides a recipe to deploy a combination of the best free open source tools, working together.
Support most promising open standards#
The goal of the Gluu Server is to support the minimum number of standards necessary to authenticate people, and to authorize them to access the resources they need to do business for the domain. The Gluu Server should be practical about supporting older protocols, but always strive to be the first implementer of the most promising new protocols.
Leverage existing business processes#
Where possible, the Gluu Server goes to work with a minimal amount of changes to existing business processes. Don't "rip and replace", but for new applications, use new protocols wherever possible to avoid the creation of future upgrade work.
Free license#
The components of the Gluu Server should be free to use in production. This license strategy will produce the best software at the lowest total cost of ownership for the organization.
Write as a last resort#
Use the best software that exists. If something the Gluu Server needs doesn't exist, it may become an OX project. If some group comes along and writes software better than an existing OX component, use it!
Not just comprehensive, but easy to use#
The Gluu Server should make it easy for domain system administrators to control access to Web and network resources. Usability is more important than features.
Horizontal scalability#
System administrators should be able to add more servers to make the Gluu Server scale as much as needed.
Extreme flexibility#
As Kent Beck says, "Embrace Change". The key to the Gluu Server's success has been its ability to handle all sorts of crazy requirements--quickly. Sometimes raw speed is needed, but equally important is the ability for the access management framework to be really smart.