Smart Connection Pooling for Microservice Session Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
In client-server architectures where microservices act as clients and an application server acts as the server, authenticating credentials for microservices incurs significant computational expense, and there is a need for improved authentication and communication mechanisms between clients and servers, especially when multiple services share the same session.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a Smart Connection Pool Manager (SCPM) that authenticates microservices and manages session identification, facilitating communication between microservices and application servers, using zero trust or implicit trust models, and maintaining active sessions to prevent premature termination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If credentials are authenticated at the application server for each microservice, then security is ensured, but computational expense increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a connection pool manager as an intermediary component between microservices and the application server. This manager handles credential authentication centrally, so that once credentials are authenticated, the resulting session can be reused by multiple microservices without requiring repeated authentication at the application server, thereby reducing computational expense while maintaining security
Solution Approach 2:
The connection pool manager performs preliminary authentication of credentials before microservices establish connections to the application server. By authenticating credentials in advance and caching the resulting sessions, the system avoids repeated authentication computations during actual microservice operations
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple microservices use different instances of the same session, then service independence is maintained, but resource utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple session instances into a single shared session managed by the connection pool manager. Multiple microservices can access the same authenticated session through the connection pool, eliminating redundant session instances and improving resource utilization while maintaining service independence through the pooling mechanism
3Reliability
If authentication is performed for each microservice connection, then security is maintained, but communication efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection pool manager maintains continuous authenticated sessions that can be reused by multiple microservices. Instead of performing discrete authentication actions for each connection, the system establishes sessions continuously and manages their reuse, thereby improving communication efficiency while maintaining security
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for communicating between a microservice and an application server using a smart connection pool manager. The microservice sends a request for a web services session to the SCPM. The SCPM authenticates credentials from the microservice and, upon authentication, sends a request using web services to the application server. The application server creates a session and responds to the SCPM with a session identification to the SCPM. The SCPM, after receiving the session identification from the application server, sends the session identification to the microservice. The microservice uses the session identification when requesting a web service from the application server. When the microservice has concluded the need for web services based requests and responses, the microservice can send a termination to the SCPM.