Multi-Primary Certificate Authority Identity Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
In networked environments with multiple regions, each having its own certificate authority, there is a risk of identity collisions and communication errors due to non-unique digital identities, and availability issues can disrupt certificate management tasks such as revocation and issuance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a multi-primary certificate authority system where certificate authorities across regions operate redundantly, allowing any instance to manage unique identities and perform tasks like issuance and revocation, ensuring continuity and uniqueness of digital identities across regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If each region has its own certificate authority, then regional independence and operational autonomy are improved, but identity uniqueness and communication reliability deteriorate due to potential identity collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple regional certificate authorities into a unified hierarchical structure where a root certificate authority oversees all regions. This allows regional CAs to maintain operational independence while ensuring identity uniqueness through centralized coordination and a shared namespace for identity generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the certificate authority function into hierarchical levels: a root CA that maintains global identity uniqueness and regional CAs that handle local operations. This segmentation allows regional autonomy in day-to-day operations while preserving overall system reliability through the root CA's coordination.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple regional certificate authorities operate independently, then regional operational autonomy is improved, but system reliability deteriorates when a region experiences availability problems
Solution Approach 1:
The root certificate authority serves universal functions across all regions, including identity uniqueness verification, cross-region certificate validation, and backup capabilities. This multi-functionality ensures that certificate management remains reliable even when individual regional CAs experience availability issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The root certificate authority acts as an intermediary between regional CAs and the global identity namespace. It mediates identity generation to ensure uniqueness, coordinates certificate revocation across regions, and provides backup services when regional CAs are unavailable, thereby maintaining system reliability.
3Reliability
If a single certificate authority manages all identities, then identity uniqueness is improved, but system complexity and single point of failure risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the certificate authority system into a root CA and multiple regional CAs in a hierarchical structure. This segmentation distributes operational complexity to regional CAs while the root CA maintains simplified critical functions for identity uniqueness and coordination, reducing overall system complexity compared to a monolithic single CA.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a hierarchical dimension to the certificate authority structure, moving from a flat single-CA model to a multi-level hierarchy. This dimensional change allows complexity distribution across levels, with regional CAs handling local operational complexity and the root CA managing global identity uniqueness, thereby reducing the complexity burden on any single component.
4Adaptability or versatility
If regional certificate authorities operate independently, then operational flexibility is improved, but coordination overhead and communication efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The root certificate authority performs preliminary actions by establishing identity uniqueness rules and namespaces before regional CAs operate. This preliminary coordination framework enables regional CAs to operate independently and efficiently without requiring frequent real-time coordination, thereby maintaining both flexibility and productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
Approaches presented herein relate to the management of secure secrets in a distributed environment. In particular, various embodiments provide for the management of unique digital identities across multiple regions, where each region can include its own certificate authority. While these certificate authorities may operate independently, they can be part of a multi-primary system where unique identities and keys are stored redundantly across environments. In the event of a failure of a certificate authority in one region, another certificate authority in another region can continue security and authentication management, without a need to issue new identities or change operation of any of the regions. Parties to secure communications, such as application containers, can each receive their own unique identity which can be shared across various regions to allow related tasks (e.g., certificate issuance or revocation) to be performed identically from any of those regions.