Cloud-Based NAS Access Management via Local Code
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network-attached storage (NAS) systems face challenges in managing access between clients and NAS devices on local networks, particularly in simplifying the connection process without requiring users to provide authentication credentials or determine the NAS device's IP address, and in centralizing access management.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based access management system generates and verifies a local code for NAS devices, allowing clients to connect securely without needing to know the NAS device's IP address, using a cloud service to manage authentication and authorization, thereby simplifying the connection process and ensuring only authorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a cloud-based access management system is implemented, then access management is centralized and simplified, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A cloud-based access management system acts as an intermediary between clients and NAS devices. The cloud service generates and verifies local codes, managing authentication and authorization centrally. This mediator simplifies the connection process for users while handling the complexity of access management remotely, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and system complexity.
2Ease of operation
If manual authentication credentials are required, then security is maintained, but ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Authentication credentials and local codes are pre-configured and stored in the cloud-based access management system before clients need to connect to NAS devices. When a client needs access, the cloud service automatically provides the pre-prepared local code without requiring manual authentication. This preliminary setup maintains security while dramatically simplifying the connection process for users.
3Device complexity
If NAS devices store access permissions locally, then access control is maintained, but device complexity and infrastructure burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The access permission management functionality is extracted from individual NAS devices and centralized in the cloud-based access management system. The cloud service stores and manages all access permissions, authentication credentials, and local codes. NAS devices no longer need to store or manage access control data locally, reducing their infrastructure burden while maintaining reliable access control through the centralized cloud system.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed for managing access between a data storage server and a client that are on the same local network. Access is managed using a cloud service that is remote from both the data storage server and the client requesting access to the server. The cloud-based management of local connections described herein simplifies the process of connecting to a data storage server on a local network from a client program or device. Connections are authorized based on the use of a local code. The local code is generated by the cloud service and includes a concatenation of a device identifier associated with the data storage server and a time-varying value, such as a timestamp.