Meteor

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Meteor Mapping Your Future

• Leveraging Technology to Provide Enhanced Services

3rd Annual Conference on Technology
Standards May 2, 2006
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Mapping Your Future

• Mapping Your Future (MYF) is a public-service web
  site (mapping-your-future.org) providing career,
  college, financial aid, and financial literacy
  information and services.

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Meteor

• Meteor is a web-based universal access
• channel for financial aid information.
• Information from multiple data providers is
  aggregated to assist the FAP and the borrower
  with the financial aid process, repayment and
  default aversion. Meteor is a collaborative
  development effort utilizing leading-edge
  technology.

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Collaboration

• Both are collaborative projects of the financial
  aid industry
• Similar missions
• Can better serve students, families, and schools
• Sharing diverse education and experience
• Sharing technological expertise

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Collaborative Projects

• Meteor school display
• Display data for school users who login to
  On-line Student Loan Counseling (OSLC) Financial
  Aid Office (FAO) Access Area
• Meteor Student display Display data for
  students completing OSLC (exit counseling)

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Basic Meteor Set-up
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Three Major Steps

• Install
• App Server
• Meteor Software
• Data Connectors or Drivers

• Configure
• Keys/Certificate
• Properties Files
• SSL Connectivity

• Customize
• Authentication Method
• Data Access

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Step 1 - Install

• Java Application Server
• An App Server is a web server that serves Java
  Servlets and JSP pages (similar to ASP, PHP,
  CGI, etc.) Meteor is known to work on several app
  servers. Greatest support is available for
  Apache Tomcat, which is free
• Meteor Application(s)
• Meteor applications will deploy out of the box
  on most app servers.
• Install Custom Drivers/Connectors
• Install any drivers/connectors necessary to
  access your legacy data using Java (SQL,
  Mainframe bridge, etc.).

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Step 2 - Configure
Create Key Pair and Configure SSL

• Create a JKS (Java) key pair
• Have certificate signed by a known CA(Verisign,
  Thawte, etc.)
• Private key resides on Meteor server

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Step 2 - Configure
Create Key Pair and Configure SSL

• Public key is placed in the Meteor Registry
• Configure App Server to use SSL Communication
  Only
• Note You generally cannot use an existing IIS
  or Apache SSL certificate. Theyre not stored in
  the same format.

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Step 2 - Configure
Why use a Key Pair?

• Each key can unlock data that was locked by
  the other key but cannot unlock info it locked
  itself.
• If a document is modified in transit, unlocking
  it will fail.
• Assures a valid meteor participant is requesting
  the data

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Step 2 - Configure
Why use a Key Pair?

• Assures that a request hasnt been modified by
  some 3rd party
• Standard SSL encrypts the request and response
• Third-party signature (Verisign, Thawte, etc.)
  verifies that each organization is valid/reputable

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Step 3 Customize
End-User Authentication

• Meteor does not ship with its own authentication
  system
• Must choose one of two methods 1. Implement
  Java codeIUserAuthentication to talk to your
  existing authentication system. 2. Implement
  code in your existing system to create a SAML
  Assertion that can be passed to Meteor to verify
  that the user has been logged-in. (Recommended)

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Step 3 Customize
End-User Authentication

• Meteor team can provide sample Java code for
  method 2
• Method 2 can theoretically be performed in any
  language. Some proofs of concept exist.

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Step 3 Customize
What is a SAML Assertion?

• SAML Security Assertion Markup Language
• http//www.oasis-open.org/
• SAML assertions are XML documents

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Step 3 Customize
What is a SAML Assertion?

• A SAML Assertion says
• I logged this user in
• Im Level N sure of the persons identity (N1
  to 3)
• This user has a certain access role (FAO,
  Borrower, etc.)

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Step 3 Customize
What is a SAML Assertion?

• SAML assertions digitally signed with an entitys
  private key
• SAML assertions can be used for single sign-on
  applications

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Step 3 Customize
Authentication Using SAML (Recommended)

• Organizations existing enterprise sign-on system
  is modified to create a SAML Assertion after
  authenticating the user.
• User clicks form submit button and assertion is
  passed to Meteor via HTTP Post.

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Step 3 Customize
Authentication Using SAML (Recommended)

• Meteor validates SAML Assertion against the
  public key in the Meteor Registry and grants or
  denies access as appropriate.
• Note Java classes and sample code exist to
  create the SAML Assertion.

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Step 3 Customize
Data Provider Customization

• How do I link Meteor to my data?
• Implement DataServerAbstraction Interface
• Retrieving Data
• Creating the Response
• Where can I find help?

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Step 3 Customize
Implementing DataServerAbstraction Interface

• Public MeteorDataResponse getData(MeteorContext
  context, String ssn)
• Security Token
• Contained within the MeteorContext
• Requestor Role (Borrower, FAO, CSR)
• Opaque User Id

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Step 3 Customize
Retrieving Data

• Use existing Meteor sample code
• Predefined database schema
• Data must be loaded into database
• Direct access to production data
• SQL embedded
• Real time access to data
• Transaction Calls
• RPC, MQ, SOAP, CICS Gateway

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Step 3 Customize
Creating the Response

• MeteorDataResponse Object
• Mapping Data
• Data is mapped to container classes.
• Start early in the process.
• Seek help from business experts.
• Meteor software handles formatting the response.

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Step 3 Customize
Help Resources

• Meteor Tech Team List Server
• Sample Code
• http//www.meteorcentral.com
• Source Code
• Production Releases
• http//www.nchelp.org/meteor.htm
• Documentation
• Meteor Setup Guide

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MYF Exit Counseling Pilot

• Integration of Real-Time Data

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Overview of Project

• Mapping Your Future (MYF) and Meteor have
  collaborated to create Meteor Borrower Display, a
  customized application that allows student loan
  borrowers to view their loan data via the Meteor
  network, in real time, when completing Mapping
  Your Futures Online Student Loan Counseling
  (OSLC). New York State Higher Education Services
  Corporation contributed significantly to the
  application, initiating a full production pilot.

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Overview of Project

• This default prevention initiative benefits both
  schools and students helping schools meet
  regulatory requirements to provide loan
  indebtedness information during exit counseling
  and providing students with real-time information
  about their student loans. This makes for a much
  more valuable exit counseling experience.

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MYF Technical Requirements

• Meteor installation
• Ability to accept/pass SAML
• New XSLT file
• Parse/display XML using ColdFusion

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Meteor Technical Requirements

• Implemented Meteor Authentication Provider by
  leveraging HESCs existing authentication
  application (HescPIN)
• Create HescPIN authentication requests
• Parse HescPIN authentication responses
• Use Meteors SAML library to generate send a
  HESC signed SAML assertion to MYF

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Benefits of the Project
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Collaborative Approach

• MYF and HESC are able to leverage existing
  technology to offer enhanced services
• MYF provides HESC customers with an improved exit
  counseling experience.
• Meteor provides students accurate up to date
  information.
• HESC can provide access to this feature for any
  school. (Students must have a HescPIN to see
  Meteor data as part of their exit counseling
  session.)

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Contacts

• Christopher Cooper, Supervisor of Data Processing
  Services
• New York State Higher Education Services
  Corporation
• 518-473-8824
• ccooper_at_hesc.org
• Al Walser, Senior Programmer Analyst
• Mapping Your Future, Inc.
• 512-869-8242
• allen.walser_at_mapping-your-future.org
• Tim Cameron, Project Manager
• Meteor
• 954-565-7229
• meteor_at_nchelp.org