Identification Agent for Remote Session User Identity
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Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud computing environments, backend servers do not know the identity of the actual user accessing software applications, as the identity is masked by the virtual server, which limits user experience and security enhancements.
Innovation Solution
An identification agent intercepts outgoing requests from virtual machines and includes user identifying information, such as IP address and username, in the request to backend servers, either by creating a registry key, adding to an HTTP header, or using a User-Agent header value, to unmask the user identity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the virtual server masks user identity when forwarding requests to backend servers, then user privacy and security are protected during remote sessions, but backend servers cannot access user information for user experience enhancement and security purposes
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates user identity management into distinct components: the virtual server maintains user identity information separately from the request forwarding process, while the identification service extracts and transmits only necessary identification data to backend servers through modified HTTP headers, thus protecting privacy while enabling information access
Solution Approach 2:
An identification service acts as an intermediary component that sits between the virtual server and backend servers. This service intercepts outgoing requests, extracts user identification information, modifies HTTP headers to include user identity, and forwards the enriched requests to backend servers, thereby solving the information loss problem without compromising the virtual server's privacy protection role
2Device complexity
If the virtual server directly forwards requests without user identification, then system complexity is minimized, but backend servers lack user context for personalized service and security
Solution Approach 1:
The identification service performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing user session information and preparing identification data before requests are forwarded to backend servers. User identity information is extracted and embedded in HTTP headers in advance, so backend servers receive requests with complete user context without requiring complex architectural changes
Solution Approach 2:
The system modifies HTTP request parameters by changing the header structure to include user identification information. Instead of fundamentally altering the request forwarding architecture, the solution changes the parameter format of HTTP headers to carry additional user context, thereby enabling personalized service with minimal system complexity
3Reliability
If user identifying information is included in all requests, then backend servers can enhance security and user experience, but network traffic volume and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The identification service extracts only the essential user identification information (such as user ID or session token) from complete user profiles and includes only this extracted minimal necessary data in HTTP headers. This extraction approach enables backend servers to identify users for security and personalization while minimizing the quantity of data transmitted over the network
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods of identifying users of remote sessions are disclosed. In an example, a method includes establishing a remote session in a virtual machine. The method also includes identifying a user of the remote session. The method also includes identifying information of the user in an outgoing request by the virtual machine for access to an application on a backend server during the remote session.