Relay Server for Secure Mobile Data Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless mobile device services face challenges in providing secure, efficient web-based access to data objects across networks, particularly in scenarios where direct communication between mobile devices and internal data stores is restricted by firewalls, leading to complex and costly solutions for notification and email access.
Innovation Solution
A relay server is used to establish a connection between a mobile device and a web access server, transmitting authentication information to authenticate the user and retrieve data objects, allowing for web-based access to data without requiring constant user intervention, with the relay server maintaining a connection to prevent timeouts and re-establishing communication when necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a relay server is introduced to enable web-based access to data objects behind firewalls, then accessibility and ease of operation are improved, but device complexity and system cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a relay server as an intermediary component that sits between mobile devices and internal data stores, enabling web-based access without requiring direct connections through firewalls. The relay server receives web requests, establishes appropriate connections to data stores, and returns data to users, thereby solving the accessibility problem while maintaining network security boundaries.
2Reliability
If direct communication between mobile devices and internal data stores is blocked by firewalls for security, then network security is improved, but accessibility and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The relay server acts as a secure intermediary that allows web-based access to data objects without compromising firewall security. It receives authenticated web requests from mobile devices, establishes secure connections to internal data stores using stored credentials, and returns data through the web interface, thereby maintaining security boundaries while enabling accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments network communication into external web-facing components (relay server) and internal data store components, allowing different security policies to apply to each segment. The relay server handles untrusted web traffic externally while maintaining secure, authenticated connections to internal data stores, thus protecting the internal network while enabling external access.
3Reliability
If connection management requires constant user authentication and intervention, then security control is improved, but productivity and time efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The relay server performs preliminary authentication by storing credentials and establishing connections to data stores in advance. Once authenticated, it maintains persistent connections and handles multiple data access requests without requiring repeated user authentication, thereby improving productivity while maintaining security through initial credential verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service authentication where the relay server automatically manages connection establishment, authentication, and maintenance without requiring constant user intervention. The server autonomously handles connection timeouts, re-establishes connections when needed, and manages credential storage, freeing users from repetitive authentication tasks while maintaining security controls.
Data Source
AI summary
Providing a mobile device with web-based access to data objects is disclosed. Authentication information is sent from a mobile device to a relay server. The relay server executes a connection application to establish a connection to a web access server. The authentication information is provided to the web access server associated with a data store hosting a data object. Upon authentication, the data object is provided to the relay server from the data store. The data object is then provided to the mobile device.