Multi-Cloud Agent Security Profile Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-cloud, multi-tenant, multi-cell software as a service (SaaS) platforms, ensuring secure agent registration and access to specific resources while maintaining scalability and segregation across thousands or millions of agents is challenging due to the need for robust security profiles and efficient communication protocols.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method for registering agents involves receiving a token and an agent installer, validating a certificate signing request (CSR), creating a security profile mapping the agent identity to specific resources, and providing temporary credentials for secure access, with mechanisms for re-registration and updating access permissions as needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If robust security profiles and verification mechanisms are implemented for agent registration, then security and authorization are improved, but system complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-generating security tokens and agent installers before actual agent deployment. The token includes embedded endpoint information that will be needed during registration, and the installer is prepared in advance with all necessary configuration data. This eliminates the need for complex real-time security profile generation and reduces processing time during actual registration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary token that mediates between the computing device and the agent registration process. The token acts as a carrier containing endpoint information and serves as an intermediate verification artifact, simplifying the direct interaction between components and reducing overall system complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple agents are managed across multi-tenant, multi-cell environments, then system versatility and coverage are improved, but difficulty of managing agent identification and access control increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the multi-tenant, multi-cell environment by embedding specific endpoint information within individual tokens. Each agent receives a token containing its specific tenant and cell endpoint identifiers, creating isolated identification paths for each agent. This segmentation approach allows the system to manage thousands of agents across multiple tenants and cells without creating a complex centralized identification hierarchy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing each agent with locally-specific endpoint information embedded in its token. Instead of using a universal identification scheme, each agent's token contains endpoint data tailored to its specific tenant and cell context. This allows agents to operate autonomously with their own identification credentials, simplifying access control management across the distributed multi-tenant environment.
3Reliability
If secure communication protocols and credential verification are implemented, then communication security is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary security setup by embedding endpoint information and verification data within the token before it is issued to the computing device. The agent installer is also prepared in advance with all necessary security configurations. This preliminary action eliminates the need for time-consuming real-time security profile generation and verification during agent registration and operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by embedding a copy of the endpoint information directly within the token itself. Instead of requiring agents to query or verify their access credentials in real-time, the token contains a self-contained copy of the necessary endpoint identification and authorization data. This allows for rapid verification processes while maintaining strong security protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
This document describes systems and techniques enabling the secure registration of an agent such that the agent has secure and trusted access to its specific tenant and specific resources in a multi-region, multi-tenant, multi-cell SaaS platform. The systems and techniques use a secure and robust agent registration process to enable the creation of a unique security profile for each specific agent to enable access only to its specific tenant and specific resources that the agent uses to communicate with the SaaS platform to carry out jobs. The systems and techniques result in a registration process that is scalable for thousands or millions of agents in an environment having segregated SaaS platform cells.