Google Apps @ Cambridge - What we did
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Google Apps was deployed at the University of Cambridge to provide calendar functionality to over 40,000 users across 100 departments and 32 colleges. A Java-based single sign-on application called gAuth was created to integrate Google authentication with the University's existing Raven authentication system. While rollout went smoothly, ongoing issues included conflicting accounts and support responsibilities. Usage grew steadily, with unique daily and monthly users increasing since the October 2010 launch.
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Google Apps @ Cambridge - What we did
- 1. Google Apps @ Cambridge What we did Jon Warbrick University of Cambridge Computing Service jw35@cam.ac.uk / @jw35
- 2. The University of Cambridge 100+ departments 32 colleges 40,000 users “A loose affiliation of warring fiefdoms”
- 3. Handy building blocks • University Computing Service • even if it doesn’t set policy • User Administration Database • Raven: Web Authentication system • including a Shibboleth IdP • A 2008 UCS trial of Google Apps
- 4. What do we want? A Calendar! Perhaps other things, later...
- 5. To stay within the law http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/googleapps/google-apps-cambridge-contract.pdf Photo: CC BY-SA 2.0 Steve Punter http://www.flickr.com/photos/spunter/3363326374/
- 6. General Plan • Google Apps for Education • but just Calendar to start with • Use cam.ac.uk domain • Web SSO using Raven • Automatically available to everyone • Minimum ongoing staff involvement • Rollout September, for October, 2010
- 9. Web authentication SAML SSO service gAuth
- 10. Web authentication SAML SSO service gAuth
- 11. Web authentication SAML SSO service gAuth
- 12. gAuth • Based on Google example Java SAML code • SAML, but not Shibboleth • Java Webapp, runs in Tomcat • And some other things ...
- 13. Account creation gAuth
- 14. Account creation gAuth
- 15. Account creation gAuth Provisioning API
- 16. Account creation gAuth Provisioning API
- 18. Mail confirmation
- 19. Non-web authentication Shush! ‘Token’ == ‘Password’
- 20. Account management gAuth Raven feed User admin. database reconcile- reconcile- admin google Status: Google •[Unknown] •Current •Blacklisted •Cancelled •[Deleted]
- 21. Implementation • gAuth: Java webapp in Tomcat • Batch processing: Java run by cron (!) • (Live/stanby) pair of VMs on Xen cluster • Local Postgress database; Slony1 replication • Manual service address transition
- 22. Plain sailing? • Account issues • Pre-existing cam.ac.uk domain • ‘g’ ‘o’ ‘o’ ‘g’ ‘l’ ‘e’ not allowed in domain names • Calendar sync, iPhones and other mobile devices • Support. Do you or don’t you? Photo: CC BY 2.0 sailorbill http://www.flickr.com/photos/sailorbill/2435667146/
- 23. Account Issues • Conflicting accounts • Google apps vs. Google consumer • foo@cam.ac.uk != foo@cam.ac.uk • The ‘New Authentication Architecture’ transition • Conflicting accounts renamed • Loss of multiple login • The 62 ‘other’ Google services Photo: CC BY 2.0 sailorbill http://www.flickr.com/photos/sailorbill/2435667146/
- 24. Deployed October 2010 Number of Accounts http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/~jw35/google-usage/
- 25. Deployed October 2010 Unique users per day http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/~jw35/google-usage/
- 26. Deployed October 2010 Unique users per month http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/~jw35/google-usage/
- 27. “Prediction is very hard, especially about the future.” Niels Bohr • Groups? • Google Docs? • The 62 ‘Other Google Services’? Photo: © Copyright Stephen Craven and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
- 28. Any questions?
- 29. Any questions? Jon Warbrick University of Cambridge Computing Service jw35@cam.ac.uk / @jw35
Editor's Notes
- Introduce self\nQuestions welcome as-and-when\nA SSO and IdM case study. About May->September 2010\n
- University of Cambridge is an unusual place - some of this may not apply to you\n
- We do have some useful building blocks\nNote that we didn’t use Shib (will explain why later)\n
- Have e-mail, websites\nDon’t have Docs equivalent, or chat, but don’t have any demand either\nDo have demand for a calendar - go for that as ‘extended pilot’\n
- Notably:\nData Transfer outside EEA – DPA 8th principle - Compliance with Safe Harbor principles\nUser's Privacy & Data Processing – DPA 7th principle:\n Use of customer data only in connection with provision of service\n Measures against unauthorised access\npostmaster@ & abuse@ addresses\n\n\n
- Use of cam.ac.uk domain a nod to possible future gmail\n
- ANNIMATION\ngAuth is an ‘invisible’ service, hence dotted outline\nAll this is ‘old’ hat’ web redirection authentication\nMost of this is invisible to users\n
- ANNIMATION\ngAuth is an ‘invisible’ service, hence dotted outline\nAll this is ‘old’ hat’ web redirection authentication\nMost of this is invisible to users\n
- ANNIMATION\ngAuth is an ‘invisible’ service, hence dotted outline\nAll this is ‘old’ hat’ web redirection authentication\nMost of this is invisible to users\n
- ANNIMATION\ngAuth is an ‘invisible’ service, hence dotted outline\nAll this is ‘old’ hat’ web redirection authentication\nMost of this is invisible to users\n
- ANNIMATION\ngAuth is an ‘invisible’ service, hence dotted outline\nAll this is ‘old’ hat’ web redirection authentication\nMost of this is invisible to users\n
- ANNIMATION\ngAuth is an ‘invisible’ service, hence dotted outline\nAll this is ‘old’ hat’ web redirection authentication\nMost of this is invisible to users\n
- ANNIMATION\ngAuth is an ‘invisible’ service, hence dotted outline\nAll this is ‘old’ hat’ web redirection authentication\nMost of this is invisible to users\n
- ANNIMATION\ngAuth is an ‘invisible’ service, hence dotted outline\nAll this is ‘old’ hat’ web redirection authentication\nMost of this is invisible to users\n
- Google code now marked ‘deprecated’, but what we used earlier\nDidn’t use Raven Shib because a) still 1.3; and b) needs ‘special’ config; and c)wanted to do other things\nHaving our T&Cs was useful for DPA etc. compliance\n\n
- ANNIMATION\nOn the way back through gAuth, having worked out who we have\nCreate if doesn’t exits, update else\nCreate seems to work reliabably (slightly to my surprise!) \nJava version of API, to integrate with gAuth SSO code\n\n
- ANNIMATION\nOn the way back through gAuth, having worked out who we have\nCreate if doesn’t exits, update else\nCreate seems to work reliabably (slightly to my surprise!) \nJava version of API, to integrate with gAuth SSO code\n\n
- ANNIMATION\nOn the way back through gAuth, having worked out who we have\nCreate if doesn’t exits, update else\nCreate seems to work reliabably (slightly to my surprise!) \nJava version of API, to integrate with gAuth SSO code\n\n
- ANNIMATION\nOn the way back through gAuth, having worked out who we have\nCreate if doesn’t exits, update else\nCreate seems to work reliabably (slightly to my surprise!) \nJava version of API, to integrate with gAuth SSO code\n\n
- ANNIMATION\nOn the way back through gAuth, having worked out who we have\nCreate if doesn’t exits, update else\nCreate seems to work reliabably (slightly to my surprise!) \nJava version of API, to integrate with gAuth SSO code\n\n
- ANNIMATION\nOn the way back through gAuth, having worked out who we have\nCreate if doesn’t exits, update else\nCreate seems to work reliabably (slightly to my surprise!) \nJava version of API, to integrate with gAuth SSO code\n\n
- ANNIMATION\nOn the way back through gAuth, having worked out who we have\nCreate if doesn’t exits, update else\nCreate seems to work reliabably (slightly to my surprise!) \nJava version of API, to integrate with gAuth SSO code\n\n
- ANNIMATION\nOn the way back through gAuth, having worked out who we have\nCreate if doesn’t exits, update else\nCreate seems to work reliabably (slightly to my surprise!) \nJava version of API, to integrate with gAuth SSO code\n\n
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- Also wanted/needed to support non-Web access\nVery like ‘application-specific passwords’ in new Two-step verification\nBorrowed ‘Token’ idea from eduroam - always retrievable\n
- Need to clean up departed users (DPA if nothing else)\n Except our users tend to come back!\nLoss of Raven not good enough --> because of Token\nForced into gAuth database to store retrievable token \nMain gAuth code also enforces consistency\n\n
- Not Heartbeat because of Slony issues\n
- Account issues expanded on the next slide\ncam.ac.uk was ‘Comunity Managed’ edition\n a problem because a) users might have left; and b) included Docs/Sites\n couldn’t check departed users till agreement signed\nWanted to use google.cam.ac.uk to allow for mslive.cam.ac.uk. Couldn’t.\nStill some re-authentication problems on iPhone. Caching?\nDon’t under-estimate the support cost, if you provide support\n
- Turned out that quite a lot of people (20%) had conflicting accounts\nNew Auth Arch hit soon after launch, transitioned May 2011\nBig problem with the 62 is where email address is meaningfull - e.g. Google Groups\n
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- Note Saturday/Sunday\n
- The theory is that we are not picking up many new users\n
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