Local Delivery Service Using Outbound HTTPS for Firewall-Safe Routing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud-based Customer Communication Management (CCM) solutions face challenges in securely delivering documents to on-premises destinations without compromising enterprise network security by requiring the opening of firewall ports.
Innovation Solution
A local delivery service within the enterprise network pulls documents from a cloud-based communications server using HTTPS, acting as a proxy to deliver documents to various channels without opening firewall ports, leveraging standard HTTP channels for secure communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If cloud-based CCM solutions are used to produce communication documents, then computational power and storage capability are leveraged, but network security may be compromised due to the need to open firewall ports for document delivery
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of the cloud server pushing documents to the enterprise network (which requires opening inbound firewall ports), the local delivery service inverts the approach by pulling documents from the cloud server through outbound HTTPS connections. This reverses the communication direction, allowing secure document retrieval without exposing the enterprise network to inbound attacks.
Solution Approach 2:
The local delivery service acts as an intermediary component deployed within the enterprise network. It mediates between the cloud-based communications server and internal delivery channels, retrieving documents via HTTPS and then distributing them locally. This intermediary approach eliminates the need for direct cloud-to-network connections that would require firewall port openings.
2Ease of operation
If documents are delivered from cloud server to enterprise network, then document delivery functionality is achieved, but firewall ports must be opened which compromises network security
Solution Approach 1:
The system inverts the traditional push-based delivery model by implementing a pull-based approach. The local delivery service initiates HTTPS connections to the cloud server to retrieve documents, rather than allowing the cloud server to push documents through the firewall. This reversal maintains ease of document delivery while preserving network security through standard outbound web protocols.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a local delivery service pulls documents from the cloud using HTTPS, then network security is maintained without opening ports, but document delivery complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The local delivery service is implemented as a lightweight intermediary application that handles the complexity of cloud connectivity. By deploying this dedicated service component within the enterprise network, the system isolates the complexity of HTTPS communication and document retrieval from the rest of the network infrastructure, maintaining security while managing operational complexity through a dedicated service layer.
Data Source
AI summary
A local delivery service (LDS) operates in an enterprise computer network as a proxy for a communications server (CS) computer operating in a cloud computing environment. The LDS pulls a queue repository maintained by the CS and retrieves an output item flagged by the CS for local delivery. The output item has a document and associated configuration information specifying an application domain in the cloud computing environment and delivery settings specific to the application domain maintained by the CS. The LDS translates the delivery settings and routes the document to the connectors of communications channels of the enterprise computer network. In this way, documents produced by the CS in the cloud can be delivered locally to disparate destinations on the enterprise computer network without having to open individual ports in a firewall of the enterprise computer network to connect the CS with communications channels of the enterprise computer network.