1.3.1 Security Background

Because KILE is a security protocol, the normative references (section 1.2.1) and this specification use terms that are commonly used in the security field. In this specification, every effort was made to use terms (such as kerberos principal, key, and service) in the same way that they are used in [RFC4120] section 1.7.

A working knowledge of the Kerberos protocol is required to be able to understand the variations between KILE and Kerberos V5, or among all the Kerberos implementations. Several informative references (section 1.2.2), specifically [DIALOGUE] and [KAUFMAN], provide an excellent high-level understanding of the Kerberos protocol and message flow. [KAUFMAN] also provides an excellent survey of other security protocols and concepts and helps explain the terminology that is used in this document.

Finally, there are descriptions in [RFC4120] and [RFC4121], and the predecessor documents [RFC1964], [RFC2743], and [RFC1510], that are not always immediately apparent. The implementer has to study carefully how Generic Security Services (GSS) [RFC2743] and the Kerberos implementation of GSS [RFC4121] tie together.