Gateway Device for Token-Based Application Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Computing devices and applications face inefficiencies and delays when accessing data from other applications due to the need to establish and manage various communication protocols, network addresses, and security parameters, especially in large-scale environments where hundreds or thousands of applications need to communicate.
Innovation Solution
A gateway device facilitates secured communications by receiving requests for tokens from applications, authenticating them, and sending requests to external services, allowing applications to access data without needing to know the external service's protocols or addresses, using tokens to secure and authenticate messages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If applications communicate directly with each other to access data, then data access is achieved, but processing overhead increases and communication efficiency decreases due to protocol establishment and parameter management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway server as an intermediary component that mediates communication between applications and external services. The gateway handles token issuance, authentication, and protocol translation, allowing applications to communicate with external services without directly managing complex protocols, network addresses, or security parameters. This resolves the contradiction by improving data access efficiency through simplified application-side communication while the gateway manages the underlying protocol complexity.
2Ease of operation
If each application establishes protocols and manages parameters with every other application, then direct communication is enabled, but processing overhead and delays increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway server performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing authentication mechanisms and token issuance processes. Applications receive tokens in advance that encode necessary authentication and authorization information, eliminating the need for real-time protocol negotiation and parameter exchange when accessing external services. This reduces communication simplicity maintenance overhead and minimizes time losses during data access operations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If applications need to know external service protocols and network addresses to communicate, then direct data access is possible, but system adaptability decreases and code changes are required for service updates
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway server acts as an adaptable intermediary layer between applications and external services. When external services change protocols or network addresses, only the gateway needs to be updated, not the applications themselves. The gateway translates and adapts communication protocols, manages service registry, and handles authentication, thereby improving system adaptability while reducing integration effort for new services.
4Reliability
If applications directly access external services without intermediation, then communication speed is maximized, but security and authentication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway server serves as a security intermediary that centralizes authentication and authorization management. It issues tokens containing encoded security credentials and validates them during data access operations. This approach improves authentication security by providing centralized control and consistent validation, while reducing security protocol management complexity at the application level, as applications only need to implement token acquisition and presentation rather than full security protocol stacks.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus, computer-readable medium, and/or system may be used to facilitate secured communications between internal and external applications and/or computing devices. For example, a gateway device may generate access tokens for internal applications, such as application programming interfaces (APIs), and/or external services. Access tokens may comprise various types of information used for authentication or authorization, such as client secrets, grant types, and/or client identifiers. Using one or more access tokens, internal applications may access data from external services. Similarly, external services may access data from internal applications using one or more access tokens.