Decentralized Authentication Token Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
In internet services employing a pool of servers, client re-authentication is inefficient as different servers may require re-authentication credentials for each request, leading to unnecessary user interaction and increased processing load.
Innovation Solution
A server generates an authentication token upon initial client request, which includes user identity information and is shared across the server pool, allowing any server to decrypt and re-authenticate the client using a shared secret, eliminating the need for repeated credential entry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a pool of servers is used to process user requests, then service capacity and availability are improved, but authentication efficiency deteriorates because different servers require re-authentication
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system is segmented into two independent components: (1) the authentication credential verification performed by the initial server, and (2) the request processing that can be distributed across multiple servers. The authentication token acts as a portable credential that decouples the authentication step from subsequent request processing, allowing servers to be segmented without compromising authentication efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
An authentication token is introduced as an intermediary carrier that transfers authentication credentials between the client and servers. Instead of direct credential verification between each server and client, the token serves as a mediator that contains pre-verified authentication information, enabling any server to authenticate the client without direct credential handling.
2Reliability
If servers re-authenticate clients by requesting credentials again, then authentication security is maintained, but user interaction and processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
Authentication is performed in advance during the initial request, and the authentication result is stored in a token that the client carries forward. This preliminary authentication action eliminates the need for repeated credential entry, as the token already contains the verified authentication information that can be presented to subsequent servers.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring clients to repeatedly provide original authentication credentials, the system creates a copy of the authentication information in the form of an authentication token. This token copy contains sufficient verification data for servers to authenticate the client without needing the actual credentials, thereby maintaining security while improving ease of operation.
3Measurement precision
If authentication credentials are repeatedly requested, then server verification accuracy is ensured, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication verification function is extracted from the general request processing flow. The initial server performs the complex credential verification and extracts the essential authentication result into a token. Subsequent servers only need to validate the token rather than perform full credential verification, significantly reducing processing overhead while maintaining verification accuracy through the token's cryptographic validation.
Data Source
AI summary
A client is authenticated by a server receiving an initial request from the client at the beginning of a session. The server receiving the initial request generates an authentication token and returns the authentication token to the client in response to the client being authenticated. The user's credentials used to authenticate the client are stored in the authentication token along with other information. After receiving the authentication token from the server that generated the authentication token, the client passes the authentication token with each of the future requests to the pool of servers. Using the client to pass the transferrable authentication token, the servers share the user's identity/credentials in a decentralized manner. Any server from the shared pool of servers that receives a subsequent client request is able to decrypt the token and re-authenticate the user without having to prompt the client for authentication credentials again.