Database Device History Data Identifier Masking
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity and volume of data in device-as-a-service systems lead to inefficiencies in data retrieval and manipulation, particularly due to the challenge of managing device identifiers that remain constant across user changes, causing data corruption and high costs in testing new functionalities.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a database that modifies device identifiers upon de-enrollment and re-enrollment, using a masking logic to create a unique identifier for each user session, ensuring data integrity and separation of historical data across multiple users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single unified database stores all device data using constant device identifiers, then data retrieval is simplified, but data corruption occurs when devices are re-enrolled with different users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identifier system into two components: a constant device identifier for hardware identification and a dynamic user session identifier for data attribution. This segmentation allows the database to distinguish between device identity and user context, preventing data corruption while maintaining retrieval efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mapping table as an intermediary layer between the device identifier and user data. This mapping table stores the relationship between device identifiers and user session identifiers, allowing the system to resolve identifiers without direct exposure of the underlying data structure, thus preventing corruption while enabling retrieval.
2Measurement precision
If multiple physical devices are acquired for testing new functionalities, then testing accuracy is improved, but costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of device identities through user session identifiers. A single physical device can be de-enrolled and re-enrolled multiple times, each time generating a new user session identifier that acts as a copy of a device-user relationship. This allows testing of multiple device scenarios without acquiring multiple physical devices, maintaining testing accuracy while reducing device quantity.
3Ease of operation
If device identifiers remain constant across user changes, then device identification is simplified, but data from different users becomes corrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identification system into device identifier (constant) and user session identifier (dynamic). The device identifier maintains simplicity for hardware recognition, while the user session identifier provides the necessary differentiation for user data separation, preventing corruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a temporal dimension to device identification by introducing user session identifiers that change with enrollment events. This creates a two-dimensional identification space: the device identifier dimension for hardware identity and the user session identifier dimension for user context, preventing data mixing while preserving device identification simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
An example of an apparatus including a network interface to receive enrollment data from a device, wherein the device is identified by a device identifier. The apparatus further includes a memory storage unit connected to the network interface. The memory storage unit receives device history data associated with the device identifier while the device is enrolled. The memory storage unit is also to maintain a database to store the device history data associated with the device identifier. The apparatus also includes a processor to receive a de-enrollment command associated with the device via the network interface. The de-enrollment command causes the processor to modify the device identifier stored in the database.