Host Server Digital Certificate Automation for Mobile Devices
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for obtaining digital certificates on mobile communication devices are manual and cumbersome, requiring significant processing power and lacking efficient control and distribution from the administrator's perspective in enterprise communication networks.
Innovation Solution
A method where the mobile device establishes a communication session with a host server, which requests and obtains a digital certificate from a certificate authority on behalf of the device, reducing processing power and enhancing certificate management by automating the distribution and control process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual methods are used for obtaining digital certificates on mobile devices, then the device has full control over the certificate acquisition process, but the process becomes cumbersome and requires significant processing power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a host server as an intermediary between the mobile device and the certificate authority. The host server automatically manages the certificate acquisition process by receiving device identifiers from the mobile device, requesting certificates from the CA, and distributing the obtained certificates back to the device. This eliminates the need for manual certificate management operations on the mobile device while reducing its processing burden.
2Reliability
If the mobile device directly obtains digital certificates from the certificate authority, then the device has direct control over certificate security, but the processing power and power consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the computationally intensive certificate management operations from the mobile device and relocates them to the host server. The mobile device only needs to communicate device identifiers and receive certificates, while the host server handles the complex interactions with the certificate authority, including authentication, certificate generation, and distribution. This extraction significantly reduces the processing power and energy requirements on the mobile device.
3Productivity
If automated certificate distribution is implemented through the host server, then the efficiency of certificate distribution improves, but the system architecture becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The host server is designed as a multi-functional component that handles multiple tasks: receiving device identifiers from mobile devices, communicating with the certificate authority, managing certificate storage, and distributing certificates to authorized devices. By consolidating these diverse functions in a single server, the system achieves efficient automated certificate distribution without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
In one illustrative scenario, a mobile device receives configuration information which includes information for use in constructing a request message for obtaining a digital certificate from a certificate authority (CA). After receipt of the configuration information, the mobile device constructs the request message for the digital certificate and causes it to be sent to a host server of a communication network. In response, the host server requests and obtains the digital certificate from the CA on behalf of the mobile device, and thereafter “pushes” the received digital certificate to the mobile device. The mobile device receives the digital certificate and stores it for use in subsequent communications. The host server may be part of a local area network (LAN) which includes a wireless LAN (WLAN) adapted to authenticate the mobile device based on the digital certificate, so that the mobile device may obtain access to the WLAN.