Access Guard Plugin for Multi-Tenant Log Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-tenant systems face significant overhead and administrative challenges in managing logs across multiple tenants, as existing logging systems are severely impacted by the need to run individual logging systems for each tenant, leading to inefficiencies and security concerns regarding access control.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an access guard plugin within the multi-tenant logging system that utilizes an access control list (ACL) based on user roles, ensuring secure and isolated access to logs across a cluster by using authorization tokens and user identifiers to determine permissible access, while maintaining a common location for log access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual logging systems are run for each tenant, then log security and isolation are improved, but system overhead and administrative complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the logging system by implementing tenant-specific logging namespaces and access control lists (ACLs) that logically divide the shared logging infrastructure into isolated segments for each tenant. This allows multiple tenants to share physical logging resources while maintaining logical separation and security boundaries, thus improving security without proportionally increasing system overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary access guard component that mediates between tenants and the shared logging system. This access guard enforces ACL-based access control policies, acting as a security intermediary that allows multiple tenants to securely access the shared logging infrastructure without requiring separate physical logging systems for each tenant.
2Ease of operation
If a common logging location is used for all tenants, then administrative overhead is reduced, but access control security is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal shared logging infrastructure that serves multiple tenants simultaneously. This common logging location provides multi-functional capability by handling logging operations for all tenants through a single centralized system, reducing administrative overhead while maintaining security through logical isolation mechanisms and ACL-based access control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by implementing tenant-specific access control policies and ACLs that are locally enforced within the shared logging system. Each tenant has customized access permissions and isolation rules applied to their specific logging data, allowing the common logging infrastructure to provide both centralized management efficiency and localized security control.
3Reliability
If access control is implemented for each tenant, then security is improved, but operational complexity and administrative burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges individual tenant access control mechanisms into a unified ACL-based access control system. By combining multiple tenant-specific access control requirements into a single integrated ACL framework, the system improves security through comprehensive access control while reducing operational complexity by managing all access policies through one centralized mechanism rather than separate controls for each tenant.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations of the disclosure describe access guards for multi-tenant logging. A method of the disclosure includes receiving an access request to access a logging stack comprising application logs, wherein the access request identifies a user identifier, identifying an authorization token associated with the user identifier, wherein the authorization token references an access role, and determining whether the application logs from the logging stack are accessible in view of the access role.