Access Point System Time Synchronization for Certificate Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Clients without a Real-Time Clock (RTC) or with interrupted power supply lose system time consistency, leading to unexpected authentication failures with servers during certificate validation, as they reboot and cannot maintain current time.
Innovation Solution
The client initializes system time with a default value, updates it with a reasonable time stored in flash memory, and synchronizes with network time for authentication, ensuring valid server certificate validation without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the client uses a default system time from build information, then the system can boot up without RTC, but the system time becomes much earlier than current time causing authentication failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by storing the current system time in flash memory before the client reboots. When the client boots up, it retrieves this previously stored time from flash memory, ensuring the system time is already set to a reasonable value before authentication is needed, thus avoiding authentication failure while maintaining boot capability without RTC.
2Measurement precision
If the client manually sets the system time, then the system time can be correct, but the time is lost after reboot requiring repeated manual setting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the client to automatically retrieve and restore its system time from flash memory-stored data after reboot. This eliminates the need for repeated manual time setting, as the system autonomously recovers its time configuration, maintaining both time accuracy and operational convenience.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the client stores system time in flash memory, then the time persists after reboot, but additional storage and retrieval operations are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the time persistence function with the existing flash memory storage mechanism already present in the client device. By combining the time storage requirement with the existing non-volatile memory infrastructure, the solution achieves time persistence across reboots while minimizing additional device complexity, as flash memory is typically already available in modern clients.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations of the present disclosure relate to setting a system time of an access point (AP) for server certificate validation. A method comprises obtaining a default time as a system time of the AP after an AP boots up. The method also comprises obtaining a memory time from a flash memory of the AP. The method also comprises updating the system time with the memory time obtained from the flash memory. The method also comprises validating a server certificate received from an authentication server based on the system time. The system time is synchronized with a network time if the server certificate is successfully validated based on the system time. The synchronized system time is then written into the flash memory. In this way, the authentication can be performed based on a reasonable system time even if the AP reboots.