Global Account Lockout via Ordered Messaging Service
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Group Communication Systems (GCSs) face difficulties in maintaining synchronization and security across distributed systems, particularly in large-scale global communication systems with numerous remotely located users, due to inherent uncertainties and complexities related to network faults and state management.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an Ordered Messaging Service (OMS) for Global Account Lockout (GAL) mechanisms, which includes receiving database operations, determining authentication mechanisms, updating GAL states, and synchronizing directory servers through password change logging and bind operations, ensures consistent and secure account management across all participating systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional GCS mechanisms are used for distributed system communication, then basic functionality is provided, but synchronization reliability deteriorates due to network faults and uncertainties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an Ordered Messaging Service (OMS) as an intermediary component that mediates communication between distributed directory servers. The OMS provides ordered message delivery and coordination, ensuring that security-related messages (such as account lockout notifications) are delivered reliably and in a consistent order across all servers, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity by adding a specialized mediation layer rather than complicating the entire system
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct functional components: directory servers handling authentication operations, a GAL manager handling global account lockout logic, and an OMS handling ordered message delivery. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in its function, improving overall synchronization reliability while keeping individual component complexities manageable
2Reliability
If security policies are enforced across multiple distributed systems, then security consistency is improved, but communication overhead increases due to network faults and synchronization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The OMS establishes continuous ordered message delivery channels between directory servers and the GAL manager, ensuring that security-related communications proceed without interruption or retransmission delays. This continuous action mechanism ensures security policies are enforced consistently across all systems while minimizing communication overhead by avoiding repeated transmissions due to network faults
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the GAL manager receives authenticated messages from directory servers, processes them according to security policies, and sends back lockout decisions. This feedback loop ensures security consistency while optimizing communication by only transmitting necessary security-related messages through the OMS, reducing overall communication overhead
3Reliability
If account lockout operations are performed across distributed servers, then security is improved, but synchronization difficulty increases due to network faults
Solution Approach 1:
The GAL manager acts as an intermediary that centralizes account lockout logic and coordinates with directory servers through the OMS. When a directory server receives an authentication failure, it sends a message through the OMS to the GAL manager, which then coordinates the lockout decision across all servers. This intermediary approach ensures account lockout consistency while simplifying synchronization by centralizing the decision-making logic rather than requiring complex peer-to-peer synchronization between all servers
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus and computer program product for providing Global Account Lockout (GAL) using an Ordered Messaging Service (OMS) is presented. A database operation is received from a client, and a determination made regarding whether the operation contains an authentication mechanism. When the operation does not contain an authentication mechanism then the operation is returned from. When the operation does contain an authentication mechanism then the following steps are performed: locating the entry and checking its authentication mechanism, determining whether the authentication mechanism in the operation is good, sending a bind message to a GAL manager, checking and updating GAL state, committing updates to GAL state, and returning operation to the client.