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4/22/2008
In addition to
studying law at SMU, I am a
Programming/Applications Supervisor at
UT Southwestern Medical Center. I primary
work with the Data Warehouse team on the UT
Southwestern
Business Intelligence Portal -- an intranet
site that uses SharePoint, PerformancePoint,
ProClarity, and other tools to deliver
information that executives, department heads,
and physicians can use to manage and evaluate
their business. I also helped develop the new
UTSouthwestern.org site; including: search
code, database content management tools, and
other database related work.
I use this site primarily keep track of
information about life, school, and work, but
also as a personal journal with information and
stories that you are welcome to read but
probably would not enjoy.
To contact me -- or for more information --
see my
LinkedIn Profile.
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5/30/2008 A Brief History of Kerberos
Originally Kerberos (or Cerberus) was a Greek dog that guarded the gates of Hades. He probably looked something like the picture on the left, except he had three heads, a snake for a tail, and snakes running down his back (but not wings because that would look ridiculous). Kerberos became famous when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT) developed an authentication protocol with the same name. Unlike the Greek version (hereinafter Cerberus), Kerberos allows users to access secured systems through trusted ticket granting services instead of requiring them to wrestle a giant dog. In Kerberos, the Key Distribution Center (KDC) authenticates the user and grants the user a Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT). The user’s system then presents the TGT to the Ticket Granting Service (TGS) to obtain service tickets that the user uses to access other network resources. Kerberos is secure, in part, because tickets, rather than user names and passwords, are passed across the network to control access. A few years later, when Microsoft began planning development of its 2007 line of Office servers, the product development team wanted to bring back the original user experience provided by Cerberus as part of the Trustworthy Computing Initiative. Their plan was to widely publish rich documentation on the simpler aspects of the Kerberos protocol, but then require developers to painstakingly hunt across the Earth for the more difficult, Microsoft-specific information that they could only finally obtain after overpowering a giant three-headed dog. However, just prior to launch, the Microsoft Corporate Interoperability and Standards Group (CISG) decided, instead, to replace the giant dog with a giant killer bee -- which they still call Cerberus (this is now the standard). How to Configure Kerberos in MOSS, PPS, SSRS, and Excel ServicesBy far the simplest way to configure Kerberos in a Microsoft 2007 server environment would probably be to go back in time and prevent Bill Gates from ever being born. Unfortunately, I was unable to test this theory because, while my company was willing to provide me with a time machine, it will only distribute a hammer and blowtorch to employees authorized to work on hardware.
Seriously
The best guides I have found so far for configuring Kerberos in SharePoint 2007 and Excel services are in the Marvelous Point ( http://blogs.msdn.com/martinkearn) blog ( Part 1 and Part 2). To configure Kerberos in Reporting Services, baek.info ( http://blog.baeke.info) has a great blog here. You may also need this update package or a later update package for SQL Server 2005. The only good information that I have found on configuring Kerberos for PerformancePoint is on TechNet here.
Major Pitfalls
- If SQL Server is running as Local System, you probably do not need to worry about setting up an SPN for Analysis Services.
- Kerberos only works in IIS using Basic Authentication. However, some sites and sub-sites still need to authenticate with Windows Authentication or Anonymous access. The blogs help somewhat with this.
- Be sure to edit SQL Server connection strings to use the fully qualified domain name of the SQL Server and add “SSPI=Kerberos” to the end of the string.
- You may need to add your SharePoint site to the list of Trusted Sites in Internet Explorer before Kerberos authentication will work
Good luck! 5/12/2008
 Finals are over so now is a good time for retrospection. Now that I am half-way through the JD program, two questions come to mind. First, what have I gotten out of law school; and second, what do I want to get out of the next two years?
Looking Back
The answer to the first question is confidence, pragmatism, and knowledge. Confidence comes in two forms. First, after being torn apart by moot court judges a few times, doing a presentation or facilitating a meeting at the office seems so easy in comparison.
Second, by virtue of the additional time pressures and priorities, I have had to say no to things that I would not have been comfortable saying no to in the past. And that leads to my point about pragmatism. I have always been a very pragmatic person, but at the same time I have my own ideal of the level of customer service we should be providing. Realistically, I cannot make up the difference myself and, for certain applications, I have to yield to the level of service that the department is willing to pay for--doing my best to manage expectations. Otherwise, I would go bonkers.
Finally, knowledge is really cool--especially when it is interesting knowledge. For example, the whole Tracy Roberson incident reads a lot differently when you understand what the issues are that the grand jury and trial jury have to deal with.
Of course, I have gotten other things out of law school: improved organization, writing, time management, etc., but the confidence, realistic pragmatic perspective, and knowledge gained are the things that have the most substantial impact on me.
Looking Forward
As to the future. I just need more of the same: keep challenging myself and going outside of my comfort zone. That means more moot court, mock trial, and clinics. Whatever happens, law school was the right decision and I have the right approach. Hopefully two more years is enough time to build the skills I need.
Conclusion
In summary, I am glad I decided to stick with working full time while going to law school. Although this has affected my grades, the experience that I have gained from doing it this way has been worth it. 4/24/2008
 My quick thoughts on the Spring 2008 Dallas Kids Project with the Fifth Graders at Sequoyah Elementary:
This was a product liability case involving a defective wand that Cornelia Bumble bought at Olivander's Wand Shop. The wand backfired and caused Cornelia to grow donkey ears. Conrelia suffered injuries including embarrassment and, of course, donkey ears. Our team, plaintiff's opening and closing arguments, was outstanding. They all memorized their statements, made good eye contact, and spoke well. Julia told it like it is; Christian was a statesman, and Denzel had the attitude (thanks for the pictures, Jess!).
Ultimately, we lost out due to some bad luck in cross examinations. But after seeing the way the kids progressed over four weeks, it was great to see them surprise us with what they could do in the end. I'm outta here until at least finals are over...
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