Transcript of presentation of USC on iTunes U
Powerpoint iTunes U Presentation
Diagram for Operation Between GDS*SHIBBOLETH*SIS

[ After Slide - Course Creation Process ]
Thank you Suh-Pyng for the amazing introduction. Welcome everybody. I’m going to start off by guiding you through the process of how we got to this point of authenticating and authorizing our user base against iTunes U BEFORE I actually show you the Demo. Faculty tend to do this often when they hold your test results back until the end of class, we’ll be doing something similar here to keep you on your toes.

[ iTunes U Login Slide ]
When we first started with iTunes U our first dilema was how to get our students and faculty to login to this system without issuing yet another username and password for them to remember. So we evaluated what information do we need for this sytem: we need student info, enrollment info, and staff & faculty info. It turns out that we needed the exact same information that blackboard uses. After we evaluted the data requirements we determiend that we somehow need to integrate GDS, Shibboleth, SIS, and our own database to create an authentication and authorization method that will work for us. The result is a process that i will walk you through in the next few slides, and hopefully you will be able to set it up as well for your own needs, while learning how USC iTunes U came to be.

[ Process Slide I ]
First, let’s look at What is Shibboleth? Shibboleth is an internet 2 initative that started in 2002, it enables precisely what we were trying to do in this case… have our user base login without re-issuing everyone usernames and password. As we have done at Marshall when we first developed the Portal and as we have done at the Law School when we developed our portal. On your CD i provided the latest code to install on your servers if you want to setup Shibboleth, and this URL will point you to USC specific instructions on how to proceed with the installations. You will need an SSL certificate though, so contact Verisign or Thawte to purchase this before doing an installation. I recommend Thawte for an SSL certificate simply because it is inexpensive, and they turn around certificates in under a week.

[ Process Slide II ]
Recognize this screen? This is the Login Screen for USC Shibboleth, it is the screen you will see when entering places such as Oasis, Class Registration, Software Downloads @ ITS, or USC iTunes U. However, upon logon to this screen you don’t get much except a token. This token doesn’t have much significance, except that it tells you that you have been recognized as a member of USC. At this point we don’t know any attributes about you, so this is where GDS comes in. GDS Provides attributes such as USC ID or USC PVID and soon to come enrollment information as well. However, there lies our problem… enrollment information is not present upon logon, so we need to bring in a third source… this source is SIS. I’m sure many of us in this room have tried to get information from SIS, otherwise known as the vault, but unsuccesfully. So first we filled in the necessary form to request these attributes from the GDS Committee to get an approval on the attributes we needed after a login, we determined these to be just two… USC ID and PVID. The form is included in your CD, and it shows our request exactly as we filled it in. Why did we only request these two attributes? Well, the rest was information we needed from SIS, so we put in a request to SIS. Did i just say “we”? I meant Suh-Pyng, because if i approached SIS asking for attributes they would probably laugh. Now, that we had everything in place, its time to make all these three datasources come together.

[ The Magic Slide ]
Combining everything we have discussed so far and summarizing it we have these steps:
Get an SSL Cert
Install Shib
Install SQL
Get GDS Attributes approved
Provide SIS with XML Schema
Create an SFTP location on your server
Receive and Import SIS Data
Then Form proper authorization credentials

[ Diagram Slide ]
Now let’s see all this in a diagram, to make it clearer. We receive information from SIS, info from GDS… we merge it on our iTunes box via a series of SQL DTS packages, and stored procedures that distribute the data, and then we form a nicely packaged authorization credential to iTunes over SSL. I’m including all the code for the DTS package and the Stored Procedures in your CD as well for reference, to help you put this together as well.

[ Security Slide ]
You might be wondering how is all this data secured? Well, we haven’t forgotten about security at any point during the development. Very few ports need to be opened to the public, and only a few applications need to be installed on a light box to make this magic happen. Let’s review this screen and what we opened in our case… only two ports are open to the general public: 80 and 443. The rest are limited to our subnet, or even further down to just a single machine. Part of the process when working with so much data is to get an audit to assure yourself and others that everything is in good shape. That’s where we proceeded to contact ITS, and with Luke Shepperd’s help the security team performed an audit on the box. The results were great, and we got the seal of approval from an external security team, assuring us we are safe.

[ Applications Slide ]
Before we get to our demo, let’s think of a couple of other applications for this authentication and authorization method. A few that come to my mind… within the MyUSC Portal for instance, we could display to students the classes they are enrolled in together with a list of books for those classes, so that they don’t have to visit the USC Bookstore website, re-authenticate, and generate a booklist. Or for instance in the Software Downloads section of the ITS website we could provide Class specific software to the students upon login, such as SPSS or Visual Studio, which is now distirbuted within class. For instance, if i was enrolled in a computer science course then i would have access to Microsoft’s suite of development tools. Lastly, in my last portal development, the USC Law Portal… i could display a student photo directory based on course enrollment, so that my faculty would have a photo roster. Any other ideas? MyMarshall integration, new media site EX servers, and in the near future blackboard.

[ Demonstration ]
Ok, i think you have been very patient with us thus far, so let’s get started with a login into USC iTunes U. First I’ll login with administrator access to walk you through the basic functionality it offers, then we’ll have Suh-Pyng login with her Faculty access level, and lastly we’ll have a student login to show us what they see

My first discussion about Perfect Business began on a plastic table in a parking lot, under a shaby umbrella that created some shade on a hot afternoon in Santa Monica.  After some review I truly didn’t see the potential for yet another social networking website, although the co-founder: Dan Bliss, claimed that it was going to revolutionize  the entrepreneur network.  Today, I have become a believer in the concept.  What won me over?  Well, aside from the fact that the entire website was implemented by my team and I, it was the collaboration that this community offers to one another.  Within the entrepreneurship community there is a great sense of friendship and PerfectBusiness makes use of this.

The implementation of this large-scale site with a hefty SQL back-end took a large chunk of my weekends and nights, but looking at the solution now it makes me proud.

PerfectBusiness.com was conceived of and designed by entrepreneurs who have firsthand experience in starting and growing a variety of businesses. The founders shared a passion for entrepreneurship and recognized a need for tools, resources and guidance designed specifically for entrepreneurs. This web site is the solution.

The founders believed that the people behind successful businesses would inspire many others. This led to the creation of the Video Center. PerfectBusiness formed an in-house production team and now produces exclusive interviews with business people in every field. PerfectBusiness also shares knowledge in the form of articles and columns (Articles section), books (Info Center), expert advice (Ask-An-Expert), community support (Clubs) and even the site’s own “7 Keys to Success.”

PerfectBusiness offers tools, such as the Pitch Center, 6 Steps and Marketplace, so members can proactively start or buy a business. The site also has listings for business conventions, conferences, trade shows and other events to encourage in-person connections.

In addition to helping the core audience of entrepreneurs, PerfectBusiness provides valuable services for investors, lenders, service providers, contractors, sellers, realtors, suppliers, marketers, lawyers, accountants, consultants, students and others who share an interest in entrepreneurship.

Designed, developed, and enhanced this site along side a creative and talented individual: Bryan Rosencrantz. He came up with the idea of Fitscape, an online healthcare software company committed to innovation and total body well-being. He founded it in 1995, and at the time Fitscape was one of the first companies to recognize the benefit of bringing health and wellness solutions online. Yes, even before eDiets and Weight Watchers. Fitscape continues to pioneer new products and concepts to shape the wellness industry online.

This is one of the largest Coldfusion sites that I was involved in, with more than 200 pages and a very complex database schema. Given all this I must say it is a constant challenge with new features and engaging complexities. You might be wondering what is iWell?

Westside Rentals is a rather popular site in southern california, ranked 10,000 on the web, but I think ranked #1 in Southern California when looking for a good place to live. Or at least i’d like to think so. The site began as a small venture more than 10 years ago, and is now controlling not just the “west side”, but a lot of new areas such as San Diego, Century City, and my new home city… Pasadena. Although at first glance you might say… wow… what’s up with the 1980s design, you have to look past that and see it’s content value and the service it offers.

The owner of the company, Mark Verge, has proven to be not just a great visionary, but also a person that cares about the community around him… helping people, guiding entrepreneurs, and always encouraging ideas to enhance the site. As the Chief Information Officer for the company I learned a great deal, most importantly i learned that technology is not the hardest thing to manage in an internet business. It’s not the hardware or the programming that tends to be difficult… it’s the people and the expectation management that comes with it. In a company of 70 staff members, more than 8 offices, and a 24/hr operation I learned that sleep is a luxury. It probably explains why i’m writing this at around midnight on a Tuesday, but let’s not deviate from the subject. The point is that being a CIO of such a company is a life lesson, it’s an opportunity that tests you, and more important your management of multiple tugging forces.

When will the site be redesigned? Good question… but i’ll ask a question right back… why? Redesigning a site that works and operates smoothly is not a requirement, not when 100+ other tasks are pending in the pipeline. Will it bring more traffic if the site looks “pretty”? maybe… i’m not positive it will, in fact the reason we haven’t redesigned yet is because i don’t believe it will. I think a user appreciates simplicity and not a site that boasts a design that is marvelous but with 0 content to show for. We’ll strike a balance of design and content soon, but for now the machine is operating smoothly. Seven servers in the front end and two database servers in the back end are currently holding this site together, and pulling in enough traffic to feed a few mouths.

Believe me when i say it’s not just a site that provides apartment leads… it’s much more. Try it and see http://www.westsiderentals.com

Westside Rentals is a rather popular site in southern california, ranked 10,000 on the web, but I think ranked #1 in Southern California when looking for a good place to live. Or at least i’d like to think so. The site began as a small venture more than 10 years ago, and is now controlling not just the “west side”, but a lot of new areas such as San Diego, Century City, and my new home city… Pasadena. Although at first glance you might say… wow… what’s up with the 1980s design, you have to look past that and see it’s content value and the service it offers. The owner of the company, Mark Verge, has proven to be not just a great visionary, but also a person that cares about the community around him… helping people, guiding entrepreneurs, and always encouraging ideas to enhance the site. As the Chief Information Officer for the company I learned a great deal, most importantly i learned that technology is not the hardest thing to manage in an internet business. It’s not the hardware or the programming that tends to be difficult… it’s the people and the expectation management that comes with it. In a company of 70 staff members, more than 8 offices, and a 24/hr operation I learned that sleep is a luxury. It probably explains why i’m writing this at around midnight on a Tuesday, but let’s not deviate from the subject. The point is that being a CIO of such a company is a life lesson, it’s an opportunity that tests you, and more important your management of multiple tugging forces. When will the site be redesigned? Good question… but i’ll ask a question right back… why? Redesigning a site that works and operates smoothly is not a requirement, not when 100+ other tasks are pending in the pipeline. Will it bring more traffic if the site looks “pretty”? maybe… i’m not positive it will, in fact the reason we haven’t redesigned yet is because i don’t believe it will. I think a user appreciates simplicity and not a site that boasts a design that is marvelous but with 0 content to show for. We’ll strike a balance of design and content soon, but for now the machine is operating smoothly. Seven servers in the front end and two database servers in the back end are currently holding this site together, and pulling in enough traffic to feed a few mouths. Believe me when i say it’s not just a site that provides apartment leads… it’s much more. Try it and see http://www.westsiderentals.com