Host Recovery Using Secure Store Credentials
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional approaches for managing security information during recovery from failures and unexpected events in cloud computing environments are inefficient, particularly in multitenant settings, as they rely on network communication for credentials, leading to latency and prolonged recovery times.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a trusted platform module (TPM) on host computing devices to securely store and manage credentials, enabling local recovery and remote attestation, which allows for quick and secure rebooting and restoration of services without relying on network communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network communication is used to retrieve credentials for host recovery, then security can be maintained through centralized control, but recovery time increases due to network latency and dependency
Solution Approach 1:
The TPM module pre-stores encrypted credentials and recovery information locally on the host computing device before any failure occurs. When a failure happens, these pre-stored credentials can be immediately used for recovery without needing to retrieve them over the network, thus reducing recovery time while maintaining security through encryption
Solution Approach 2:
The TPM module acts as an intermediary secure storage component between the host system and external network resources. It holds encrypted credentials locally and only releases them when properly authenticated, eliminating the need for direct network communication during recovery while maintaining centralized security control
2Adaptability or versatility
If credentials are stored remotely on network servers, then centralized security management is achieved, but recovery process becomes dependent on network availability
Solution Approach 1:
Credentials and recovery information are preliminarily stored in encrypted form within the TPM module on each host device. This local pre-storation ensures that recovery can proceed independently of network availability, while the encryption keys remain under centralized control through the attestation process
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides beforehand cushioning by having backup credentials and recovery images locally stored in the TPM module. This local cushioning protects against network unavailability during recovery operations, ensuring that the host can be restored even when network infrastructure is compromised
3Productivity
If local credential storage is implemented in TPM module, then recovery speed increases, but device complexity increases due to additional hardware requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The TPM module provides self-service secure credential storage and management capabilities directly on the host device. It autonomously manages the encryption and decryption of credentials without requiring external intervention during recovery, thereby improving recovery speed while keeping the added complexity contained within a dedicated security module
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Approaches are described for enabling a host computing device to store credentials and other security information useful for recovering the state of the host computing device in a secure store, such as a trusted platform module (TPM) on the host computing device. When recovering the host computing device in the event of a failure (e.g., power outage, network failure, etc.), the host computing device can obtain the necessary credentials from the secure store and use those credentials to boot various services, restore the state of the host and perform various other functions. In addition, the secure store (e.g., TPM) may provide boot firmware measurement and remote attestation of the host computing devices to other devices on a network, such as when the recovering host needs to communicate with the other devices on the network.