File System Authentication via Security Group ID Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing file systems face scalability issues with access control as they need to traverse the entire object hierarchy to authenticate access requests, which becomes time-consuming and inefficient, especially in multi-tenant environments where data isolation is critical.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where each object is associated with a security group ID stored in its metadata, allowing the file system to determine access rights without traversing the hierarchy by matching the client's security group ID with the object's security group ID, thus granting or denying access based on group association.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the file system traverses the entire object hierarchy to authenticate access requests, then access control security is maintained, but authentication time and system complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-associating security group IDs with objects during object creation and storing this information in object metadata. This allows the authentication system to directly compare the client's security group ID with the object's security group ID without needing to traverse the object hierarchy, thus maintaining security while reducing authentication time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the security group ID information from the object hierarchy structure and embeds it directly in the object metadata. This extraction allows the authentication process to operate independently of the hierarchy traversal, eliminating the time-consuming aspect while preserving the security control mechanism
2Reliability
If the file system traverses the entire object hierarchy to authenticate access requests, then proper access control is ensured, but system scalability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By pre-storing security group ID associations in object metadata during object creation, the system enables scalable authentication that does not depend on hierarchy depth. This preliminary action makes the authentication process independent of object hierarchy structure, allowing the system to scale efficiently as more objects and hierarchies are added
Solution Approach 2:
The patent effectively creates a copy of the security group ID information from the hierarchical structure and stores it in the object metadata. This copying mechanism allows authentication to proceed without traversing the original hierarchy, improving scalability while maintaining access control integrity
3Productivity
If the file system stores security group ID in object metadata, then authentication efficiency is improved, but data structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the object metadata structure universal by incorporating the security group ID field into the standard object metadata that already exists in the file system. This multi-functional approach allows the same metadata structure to serve both traditional purposes and the new authentication requirement, avoiding additional complex data structures while improving authentication efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
Efficient authentication in a file system with multiple security groups is disclosed. A file system (FS) executing on at least one processor device receives, from a first client application of a plurality of client applications, a request to access a first object, the request including a unique object ID that identifies the first object. The FS determines, based on a data structure maintained by the FS and inaccessible to the first client application, that the first client application is associated with a first security group of a plurality of different security groups. The FS determines, based on metadata of the first object, that the first object is associated with the first security group, and grants the first client application access to the first object.