Notification Delivery Reliability via Redundant Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Push notifications used in multi-factor authentication (MFA) are not reliable due to limitations in push notification services (PNS) availability, especially in certain geographical regions and network configurations, leading to undelivered notifications.
Innovation Solution
An infrastructure is provided to increase the reliability of notification-based authentication by delivering multiple notifications through different communication channels, including a PNS channel and an alternate channel that does not involve a PNS, ensuring that at least one notification reaches the user's device, such as via a communication backchannel established between the access management system and the user's device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If push notification services (PNS) are used for authentication notifications, then near-instantaneous communication and quick user response are achieved, but reliability deteriorates due to PNS unavailability in certain regions and network configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The notification delivery system is segmented into multiple independent channels: PNS channel (for speed) and alternate channel (for reliability). Each channel operates independently, allowing the system to leverage the speed advantage of PNS while mitigating its reliability weaknesses through the alternate channel.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the delivery parameter (communication channel) based on delivery attempts. When PNS delivery fails or is unavailable, the system switches to the alternate communication channel, effectively adapting the delivery mechanism to maintain reliability while preserving speed where possible.
2Reliability
If multiple communication channels are used for notification delivery, then reliability is improved by ensuring at least one notification reaches the user, but device complexity increases due to multiple notification handling mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having the client device initiate multiple notification requests through different channels, the system inverts the approach by having the server send notifications through multiple channels. The client device simply receives and processes notifications from whichever channel delivers first, reducing client-side complexity while maintaining high reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The notification message is copied and sent through multiple communication channels simultaneously. This allows the same authentication notification to be delivered via both PNS and alternate channels, ensuring redundancy without requiring the client device to generate or manage multiple notification instances.
3Stability of the object's composition
If PNS is used for notification delivery, then direct and persistent connection is maintained, but connectivity deteriorates when client devices must go through proxy servers
Solution Approach 1:
When direct PNS connection is blocked by proxy servers or firewalls, the system introduces an alternate communication channel as an intermediary. This alternate channel can traverse proxy servers and network restrictions that block direct PNS connections, ensuring notification delivery reliability while maintaining connection stability through the available path.
4Quantity of substance
If PNS servers store only one push notification per application per device, then storage efficiency is improved, but notification loss occurs when devices are offline and previous notifications are discarded
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by sending notifications through the alternate channel before the device comes online. This ensures that notifications are already in transit or stored on the server side before the device becomes available, preventing any loss of notification information even if PNS discards undelivered notifications while the device is offline.
Solution Approach 2:
The alternate notification channel serves as a cushioning mechanism that protects against notification loss. When PNS servers may discard undelivered notifications, the alternate channel provides a backup delivery path that ensures notification completeness, cushioning the system against the information loss that would otherwise occur.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques related to authentication and authorization are disclosed. In some embodiments, an access management system is provided for increasing the reliability of notification-based authentication and/or authorization. Push notifications, for example, may be used as part of multifactor authentication processing or authorization processing. In certain embodiments, in response to an event triggering an authentication or authorization flow for a user, multiple different ways are provided for delivering notifications related to the authentication or authorization flow to the user's device (e.g., a client device registered for push notification-based authentication or authorization). By providing multiple ways for communicating notifications related to the authentication or authorization to the user's device, the chance that an authentication-related or authorization-related notification is missed or not delivered to the user's device is dramatically reduced. This, in turn, increases the reliability of using notifications for authenticating or authorizing the user.