On-Premises CA Gateway Persistent Cloud Connection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Facilitating secure communication between a Certificate Authority (CA) and a Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM) system across disparate network environments, particularly from sensitive on-premises CA systems to cloud-hosted CLM environments, is challenging due to stringent security controls, making existing solutions like VPNs or reverse network proxies insecure and unappealing.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a persistent client-initiated communication protocol, such as WebSocket or long polling, in conjunction with a task management and orchestration framework to establish a secure connection from the CA data center, allowing the CLM system to utilize the CA on a real-time basis while maintaining a constant communication connection with the on-premises CA gateway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If cloud-hosted CLM software connects to on-premises CA software via VPN or reverse network proxy, then connectivity between environments is established, but the attack surface increases and security risk worsens
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of allowing inbound connections from the cloud to the on-premises CA (which would expose the CA to attacks), the system inverts the connection direction by having the on-premises CA gateway initiate outbound connections to the cloud-hosted CLM software. This reverses the traditional client-server model where the sensitive CA system becomes the initiator rather than the target, thereby eliminating the attack surface while maintaining connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The on-premises CA gateway acts as an intermediary component that bridges the secure on-premises CA environment and the cloud-hosted CLM software. This gateway maintains a persistent connection from the CA side to the cloud side, serving as a mediator that enables communication without requiring direct exposure of the CA system to external networks or requiring complex network configurations like VPNs.
2Ease of operation
If traditional API endpoints are used for CLM to CA communication, then simple connectivity is achieved, but real-time dynamic communication capabilities are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static API endpoint communication to dynamic persistent connections using WebSocket protocols. This allows the communication interface to adapt dynamically based on real-time needs, enabling bidirectional communication, event-driven interactions, and continuous updates between the CLM software and CA gateway without requiring repeated connection establishment or complex polling mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous communication through persistent connections maintained between the on-premises CA gateway and cloud-hosted CLM software. Rather than intermittent API calls, the system maintains an ongoing active connection that enables real-time data exchange, ensuring that communication is continuous and always available for certificate lifecycle operations.
Data Source
AI summary
The subject matter of this specification generally relates to cloud-hosted certificate lifecycle management (CLM) to on-premises certificate authority (CA) communication. In some implementations, a method includes receiving a task request specifying a requested task and an identifier specifying a location for task execution, determining the requested task and that the location for task execution for the requested task is at an on-premises CA device, in response to determining the requested task and that the location of the task is at the on-premises CA device, storing a request task data entry that links the task request to the location for task execution, providing a notification to an on-premises CA gateway, and in response to the notification, providing the requested task for task execution. In some implementations, the remote CA gateway plug-in module maintains a constant communication connection with the on-premises CA gateway via a persistent client-initiated communication protocol.