Software-defined Policy Enforcement for Data Residency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large-scale distributed computer systems for messaging lack convenient means for enterprises to enforce data residency requirements and service access controls, particularly for non-technical personnel, leading to challenges in compliance and cost management.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a software-defined control system that uses global hash map storage layers to enforce data residency and access policies by associating policies with workspace identifiers and access keys, ensuring data is stored and processed within specified geographic regions and that access is restricted according to defined permissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If distributed systems allow flexible service access and data storage across multiple regions, then system scalability and performance are improved, but control over data residency and service access becomes difficult to enforce
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a policy enforcement intermediary layer that sits between service requests and distributed resources. This intermediary intercepts requests, evaluates them against stored policies, and enforces decisions without requiring changes to the underlying distributed system architecture. The intermediary translates high-level policy intentions into low-level access control decisions, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and enforceability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining and storing access control policies and data residency requirements before service operations occur. Policies are registered and validated in advance, creating a ready-to-enforce rule set that automatically applies to subsequent requests. This preliminary configuration enables simple operational enforcement while maintaining flexible service access.
2Reliability
If enterprises implement manual access control and data residency management, then policy enforcement is possible, but operational complexity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the system automatically enforces policies without requiring manual intervention for each access decision. The policy evaluation and enforcement process is automated, with the system independently determining whether requests comply with predefined rules. This automation maintains reliable compliance assurance while eliminating the time-consuming manual management overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical policy management with automated electronic enforcement. Instead of personnel manually reviewing and approving each access request or data placement decision, the system uses automated policy evaluation logic to make these determinations instantly. This substitution maintains compliance reliability while dramatically reducing the time investment required for policy management.
3Productivity
If service providers charge based on usage volume, then revenue management is improved, but users need complex access controls to manage costs, increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal policy enforcement mechanism that handles multiple functions simultaneously: access control, data residency enforcement, and usage tracking for billing purposes. This single multi-functional system replaces what would otherwise require separate complex systems for each function, achieving revenue management efficiency without proportionally increasing access control complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges access control enforcement with usage monitoring and billing verification into a unified process. When evaluating access requests against policies, the system simultaneously tracks usage patterns that drive billing decisions. This merging allows revenue management to operate efficiently through the same policy evaluation infrastructure used for access control, avoiding the need for separate complex tracking systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A distributed computer system implements a large-scale message processing system that can initiate, request sending, and monitor the transmission of messages using any of a plurality of different communication channels that are independent of the system. Users can digitally create and store one or more data policies that specify geographical regions, or groups of regions, in which data relating to message flows must reside. Data policies can be associated with or bound to workspace identifiers. When a node of the message processing system receives a client request to process a message, the node first accesses a global hash map storage layer from which data policies can be obtained and selects a region based upon a workspace identifier carried in the client request. The node uses the selected region to forward the client request to service nodes within the specified region for further processing and includes a region identifier in the forwarded request. Users can digitally create and store access policies that specify limits or controls on access to resources. Access policies can be associated with or bound to roles, which can have bindings to users and/or access keys. When a node of the message processing system receives a client request to process a message, the node first accesses a global hash map storage layer from which access policies can be obtained, and selects an access policy based upon a workspace identifier and/or an access key carried in the client request. The node forwards the access policy, or attributes of the access policy, to service nodes if the client is allowed to use the service nodes under the access policy. Each service node conforms to the access policy and blocks the client request from access or using resources that are disallowed according to the policy. Service-to-service requests for further processing also include the access policy or attributes. Complex structured representations of access policies can be flattened into permissions trees for storage in tables of a relational database system or in flat file tables to enable rapid, wire-speed lookups and evaluation of access policies in real-time as messages traverse the system.