1 What is Kerberos and SSO?

Kerberos is a network authentication protocol that uses tickets and encryption to verify the identity of users and services. It is widely used in Windows domains and other environments that require secure and centralized authentication. SSO, or single sign-on, is a feature that allows users to log in once and access multiple applications or systems without entering their credentials again. SSO can be implemented using different methods, such as federation, identity providers, or Kerberos itself.

2 How to test Kerberos functionality?

To test the functionality of Kerberos, you need to check if the Kerberos tickets are issued and renewed correctly, if the Kerberos policies are enforced, and if the Kerberos encryption is working. You can use various tools and commands to perform these tests, such as klist, kinit, kdestroy, ktpass, ksetup, and ktutil. You can also use network analyzers, such as Wireshark, to capture and inspect the Kerberos traffic and packets.

3 How to test SSO functionality?

To test the functionality of SSO, you need to check if the users can access the applications or systems that they are authorized to, without entering their credentials multiple times. You also need to check if the SSO method is compatible with the application or system requirements, such as protocols, certificates, or tokens. You can use various tools and commands to perform these tests, such as browser dev tools, curl, saml-tracer, or fiddler. You can also use SSO test suites, such as SSOCheck or SSO Tester, to automate and validate the SSO scenarios.

4 How to measure Kerberos performance?

To measure the performance of Kerberos, you need to monitor and analyze the key metrics and indicators, such as ticket request and response time, ticket expiration and renewal time, ticket cache size and usage, and ticket service availability and load. You can use various tools and commands to collect and display these metrics, such as perfmon, event viewer, netdiag, dcdiag, or repadmin. You can also use performance testing tools, such as JMeter or LoadRunner, to simulate and measure the Kerberos load and throughput.

5 How to measure SSO performance?

To measure the performance of SSO, you need to monitor and analyze the key metrics and indicators, such as login request and response time, login success and failure rate, login session duration and expiration, and login service availability and load. You can use various tools and commands to collect and display these metrics, such as browser dev tools, curl, saml-tracer, or fiddler. You can also use performance testing tools, such as JMeter or LoadRunner, to simulate and measure the SSO load and throughput.

6 How to evaluate the reliability of Kerberos and SSO?

To evaluate the reliability of Kerberos and SSO, you need to check if they can handle different scenarios and conditions, such as network failures, service outages, configuration changes, or security breaches. You can use various tools and commands to perform these tests, such as ping, tracert, nslookup, telnet, or nmap. You can also use reliability testing tools, such as Chaos Monkey or Gremlin, to inject faults and disruptions into the Kerberos and SSO systems and observe their behavior and recovery.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?