Mechanisms for controlling access in the global grid environment

The Grid is widely seen as the next generation Internet. Aims to share dynamic collections of individuals, institutions and resources by providing consistent, easy and inexpensive access to high‐end computational capabilities. Studies Grid security and specifically users' access control. It has been proved that the viability of these heterogeneous environments is highly dependent on their security design. Solutions trying to address all aspects of security were proposed by most existing Grid projects and collaborations; however the results were not always satisfactory. Reviews some of the most widely‐accepted security solutions, and collects the most efficient. Emphasizes access control procedures and the solutions addressing authentication and authorization issues. Identifies the most successful security schemes implemented and illustrates their effectiveness. Collects these mechanisms to form the backbone of a security mechanism, addressing authentication and authorization Grid‐specific problems. The proposed schemes can constitute the backbone of an effective Grid security architecture.