A solution for eliminating passwords to improve access Denise Oliver, Education and Outreach Director Alabama Supercomputer Authority COSN 2011

Goals of Presentation Illustrate how Alabama Supercomputer innovative team project approach works Show how ASA took a commercial idea, adapted and applied it to a state-wide initiative Spark ideas about how this might work for you Take information back to your state and share this idea with teachers and administrators to improve projects where Geo IP may be applicable

Alabama Supercomputer Authority (ASA) What do we do? Maintain and develop state-wide network- Alabama Research Education Network (AREN) High Performance Computing center in Huntsville, AL Helpdesk services ( ) E-rate assistance Development of education projects/initiatives Other services needed by our clients (web hosting, disaster recovery, firewalls, , maintain quality of service)

What does ASA do best? Provides high quality technical assistance locally to state agencies, education institutions, libraries One-on-One assistance with project development and design Has an understanding of state issues, technology initiatives, political climate Supports technology implementation through partnerships with schools, libriaries, libraries and others at a state and national level Builds consensus and support for technology implementation and infrastructure

ASA Projects Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) ACCESS Distance Learning Career Tech (Alabama Career Information Network) Educate Alabama (Leadership and Evaluation) under construction Postsecondary Education-DAX (Data Access Exchange) Postsecondary Education- Adult Education

5 agency partnership State Department of Education, Department of Postsecondary Education, Alabama Commission on Higher Education, Alabama Public Library Service, Alabama Supercomputer Authority Each agency director appoints three members to the Executive Council-all volunteers Provides current up-to-date resources for the entire state-every citizen has access 24/7 Helpdesk provided by ASA for technical support/information Funded from the Alabama Education Trust Fund-budget line item Supported by legislation through advocacy campaigns Suffers funding cuts like everyone else

How does ASA use GEO IP Authentication? Project Team Network Engineer- Richard Trice Website Designer-Rob Latham Education Specialist/AVL Helpdesk support-Gina Frady Education and Outreach Director-Denise Oliver-AVL Council Representative

What started the process? Less funding-higher expectation to do more with less Look for economical ways to deploy technology Increase use of existing resources to keep them viable Look at alternative and innovative ways to provide what we are already providing without increased funding or with funding cuts Trend to consolidate resources for scale of economy

What is GEO IP Authentication? Authentication based on where user’s IP is registered and user’s physical location GeoLocation software determines approximate user location IP address ranges for libraries and schools Exception IPs on a case by case basis Satellite State line Air cards Mobile devices

Common Uses of GeoIP Content localization for webmasters who want to serve local content on a global domain Copyright owners and delivery networks restrict streams based on the geographical information Target advertising to certain areas i.e.. Banner advertising or pay for view advertising by businesses for selected markets, etc. Fraud prevention identifies suspicious payment transactions live by correlations between IP address and additional information (billing records, header) City advertising by advertising on web sites with extensive content related to particular cities. Content based on local time using IP geolocation [15] [15]

AVL’s Old Method Of Authentication Only users at public libraries or public school campuses could ‘easily’ use the AVL resources. ‘Home Access’ users had to be issued ‘AVL Cards’ with usernames and passwords. Every student had to be issued an AVL card in order to use the AVL resources for home work, reports, etc. outside of the school day Huge barrier to access of resources-limited access

AVL 2010 Site Redesign Incorporating GEO IP Authentication to remove barriers to access resources.

How does it work for the user?

How does it work on the back end?

How has this affected AVL card usage?

How has this affected overall usage?

August 2010 Usage

Future Impact on AVL Usage

Challenges Individual vendors provide mobile apps for their products (one at a time) Website design adapted for mobile devices Some AVL cards still will need to be used Using individual vendor Geo IP can shut down project if there is server failure Educating users about how the new authentication works Continued adaptation of the website to include new features without interfering with authentication (general public page v. access to databases i.e. free trials)

Contact Information Denise B. Oliver, Education and Outreach Director Alabama Supercomputer Authority 400 S. Union St. #337 Montgomery, Al