The test infrastructure comprises the individual components of the eID infrastructure. It provides testing opportunities and related tools, particularly to the manufacturers of these individual components. This is primarily meant to ensure the interoperability of the components of the eID infrastructure. The BSI has compiled specifications for the interfaces of these components in the form of Technical Guidelines. The components' conformity with these Technical Guidelines is what determines their interoperability.

Framework conditions

The eID infrastructure is operated in a production system. Due in part to legal reasons, tests in the production system can only be carried out to a very limited extent. In the production system, authorisation certificates can only be issued for productive eID applications. Furthermore, only real ID cards can be used in the production system (no test ID cards).

This means the production system must be mirrored to a separate test system in order to conduct tests under real-world conditions. Apart from final approval tests, all integration tests that are closely related to the production system can be carried out in this test system. All changes that are to be made in the production system are first carried out in the test system as part of a coordinated advance phase.

Since the test system is operated in essentially the same way as the production system, a development system is used to support the implementation of components. This system makes it possible to conduct tests during development and try out new functions.

Components of the eID infrastructure

The eID infrastructure consists of five separate components. On the user side, there are eID cards, eID card readers, and eID clients. These components communicate with eID applications and eID servers on the service provider side. eID servers facilitate connections to the fundamental background system. The following graphic illustrates the basic elements of the eID infrastructure and the communication relationships between its individual components:

To ensure the conformity and interoperability of all the components of the eID infrastructure, there need to be ways to test each component. The testing opportunities provided by the development, test, and production systems are described in the sub-sections on the individual eID components. These testing opportunities can involve commercially available products or test and development versions that can be obtained free of charge.

Each sub-section starts by describing the conformity and interoperability tests that are available. Besides helping to ensure these two aspects, such tests aid manufacturers in developing corresponding components. The test elements available for the component under consideration are then listed. These test elements can be used by manufacturers of other components for their functional tests.

Contact

Aspects of the eID infrastructure (and the test infrastructure in particular) are discussed in the DIF working group on the eID infrastructure (DIF-eID). If you wish to contact the DIF-eID working group, please send an e-mail to dif-eid@bsi.bund.de.