Digital Certificate Rollout Testing for CA Bundle Transitions

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Solution Overview

Problem

Network entities in a computing network fail to validate new digital certificates due to the absence of a new CA certificate in their existing certificate bundle, leading to authentication issues.

Innovation Solution

A system performs incremental exposure to an execution environment by using a sandbox sub-environment, a testing service, and a production service to test new certificate bundles before full activation, ensuring successful authentication with new CA certificates.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If new digital certificates are issued based on a new CA certificate, then the security and authenticity of network communications are improved, but network entities with existing certificate bundles cannot validate the new digital certificates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication reliabilityVSAvoidcertificate compatibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by distributing the new CA certificate to network entities before the new digital certificates are fully activated. This allows entities to pre-update their certificate bundles, ensuring they can validate new certificates when they are issued, thus maintaining both authentication reliability and certificate compatibility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The certificate update process is segmented into multiple phases: first distributing the new CA certificate, then gradually transitioning to new digital certificates. This segmentation allows the system to manage the complexity of certificate updates by breaking it into manageable steps, ensuring smooth transitions without disrupting overall system authentication

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If certificate bundles are updated to include new CA certificates, then validation of new digital certificates is enabled, but network security and stability may be compromised if the new certificates are not properly tested

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecertificate bundle update capabilityVSAvoidnetwork security stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

A testing service acts as an intermediary between the new certificate implementation and the production network environment. This service provides a sandbox sub-environment where new certificates can be validated and tested before being deployed to the main network, ensuring that certificate bundle updates maintain network security and stability while enabling adaptability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system prepares compensatory measures in advance by creating a sandbox environment that cushions against potential security issues. If problems are detected during testing, the system can roll back changes without affecting the production environment, thus protecting network security stability while allowing certificate updates

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

3Reliability

If incremental exposure to the execution environment is performed using sandbox and testing services, then the risk of authentication failures is reduced, but the time and complexity of certificate distribution increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication success rateVSAvoidcertificate distribution time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Testing and validation are performed in advance in the sandbox environment before deploying to production. This preliminary action identifies and resolves potential authentication issues early, ensuring high authentication success rates when certificates are fully deployed, while the parallel processing of multiple certificate operations minimizes time loss

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Measurement precision

If multiple testing operations are performed in a sandbox sub-environment, then authentication issues are detected early, but the device complexity and resource requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication testing accuracyVSAvoidtesting infrastructure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The sandbox sub-environment is designed as a universal testing platform that can execute multiple types of authentication testing operations. This multi-functional approach consolidates various testing needs into a single infrastructure, improving measurement precision for authentication testing while minimizing the increase in device complexity through resource consolidation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS12495033B2Testing digital certificates in an execution environment of a computing network

Publication Date: 2025.12.09 ORACLE INT CORP

AI summary

A system utilizes a testing service executing on a first network entity executing in an execution environment of a virtual cloud network to perform a set of testing operations including receiving, at the first network entity, a first entity certificate issued based on the first CA certificate and utilizing the first testing service to authenticate the first entity certificate against the first CA certificate. While executing the set of testing operations, the second CA certificate is active in the execution environment. Responsive to determining that the set of testing operations are successful, the system activates the first CA certificate in the execution environment by transmitting to a second network entity, a second entity certificate for authentication against the first CA certificate that supersedes a third entity certificate issued to the second network entity for authentication against the second CA certificate.