Multi-tenant LDAP Identity Store for Cloud Isolation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud computing environments, managing multiple identity domains efficiently while preventing unauthorized access and optimizing resource usage is challenging due to duplicative efforts and wastefulness of computing resources, especially when different organizations share the same cloud infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a multi-tenant LDAP identity store system that allows each organization to establish separate identity domains with unique identifiers, using an LDAP directory structure to isolate and manage identities and resources, and employing bind credentials for secure access control within the cloud computing environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate IDM systems are implemented for each organization in cloud computing environment, then security and access control for each organization is improved, but computing resource wastage and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements logical segmentation of identity domains within a unified IDM system. Each organization operates as a separate identity domain with its own access control policies, while sharing the underlying IDM infrastructure. This allows security isolation without duplicating entire IDM systems, resolving the contradiction between enhanced security and resource efficiency.
2Reliability
If separate IDM systems are implemented for each organization, then access control for each organization is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments identity management into separate identity domains, each with its own access control policies and procedures. This logical segmentation allows each organization to maintain independent access control while sharing the physical IDM infrastructure, reducing overall system complexity compared to having completely separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified IDM system provides universal functionality across multiple identity domains. A single IDM instance serves multiple organizations simultaneously, performing authentication and authorization for each. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate IDM systems while maintaining organization-specific access control.
3Reliability
If separate IDM systems are implemented for each organization, then identity management security is improved, but productivity decreases due to duplicative efforts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple organization-specific IDM systems into a single unified IDM system that serves all organizations. This consolidation eliminates duplicative operational efforts while maintaining security through logical identity domain separation. Organizations benefit from shared infrastructure and reduced operational overhead while preserving their security requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
While merging the IDM systems, the patent segments the identity space into separate domains for each organization. This segmentation allows secure identity management across organizations without requiring separate physical systems, improving operational efficiency by eliminating duplication while maintaining security boundaries.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A multi-tenant identity management (IDM) system enables IDM functions to be performed relative to various different customers' domains within a shared cloud computing environment and without replicating a separate IDM system for each separate domain. The IDM system can provide IDM functionality to service instances located within various different customers' domains while enforcing isolation between those domains. A cloud-wide identity store implemented as a single LDAP directory can contain identity information for multiple customers' domains. This single LDAP directory can store identities for entities for all tenants, in separate partitions or subtrees of the LDAP directory, each such partition or subtree being dedicated to a separate domain for a tenant. Components of the cloud computing environment ensure that LDAP entries within a particular subtree are accessible only to service instances that have been deployed to the domain that corresponds to that particular subtree.