IIoT Tenant Service Binding via Runtime Credential Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), managing tenants and binding services is resource-intensive and causes downtime, as each new tenant requires instantiating multiple service instances and restarting applications, leading to inefficiencies in service delivery and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
Introducing a new concept of tenant that includes a bundle of services, implemented using templates, allowing service instance credentials to be resolved at runtime without requiring application restarts, enabling dynamic binding and reducing the need for extensive instance management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional tenant management methods are used where each new tenant requires instantiating multiple service instances and restarting applications, then tenant isolation and service binding are achieved, but system downtime increases and resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring service templates with all necessary service instances and bindings before tenant creation. When a tenant is created, the system instantly activates pre-prepared service configurations rather than instantiating services on-demand, eliminating startup downtime and ensuring immediate tenant isolation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by enabling runtime modification of tenant service bindings without application restarts. The system dynamically updates service instance associations and credential resolutions during operational phases, allowing tenants to gain or lose service access instantly without system downtime while maintaining isolation security.
2Reliability
If traditional tenant management methods are used where each new tenant requires instantiating multiple service instances and restarting applications, then proper service binding is achieved, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by creating reusable service templates that define standard service instance configurations and bindings. These templates serve multiple tenants simultaneously, eliminating the need to instantiate duplicate service instances for each tenant. The system universally applies template configurations across all tenants, reducing overall resource consumption while maintaining proper service binding through template-specific credential resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements copying by using service templates as reusable blueprints that can be instantiated multiple times for different tenants. Rather than creating unique service instances for each tenant, the system copies template configurations and resolves credentials at runtime, significantly reducing the computational resources needed for tenant management while ensuring proper service binding through template-defined relationships.
3Productivity
If runtime resolution of service instance credentials is implemented, then application restarts are avoided and downtime is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary credential resolution layer that sits between the service templates and actual service instances. This intermediary mechanism automatically resolves service instance credentials at runtime based on tenant identifiers and template configurations, enabling dynamic binding without application restarts. The intermediary handles the complexity of credential management internally, presenting a simplified interface to users while maintaining high deployment efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
In an example embodiment, a method, system, and program storage device for binding an industrial application to a plurality of services in an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is provided. For each of a plurality of tenants, a service template corresponding to a group in which the corresponding tenant belongs is retrieved and an instance of the industrial application is instantiated for the corresponding tenant. Then, at runtime of an instance of the industrial application, a number of actions are taken. A request by the instance of the industrial application for a service identified by a first service name is detected. Then a credential for the service name is retrieved, with the credential identifying a location where an instance of the service identified by the first service name resides. The service identified by the first service name is then dynamically called using the location.