Scan Assistant Asynchronous API for Network Asset Assessment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Authenticated scans in network computing systems face challenges due to the need for creating, managing, and distributing credentials, which can complicate acceptance and require integration with third-party credential services. Additionally, scan performance is affected by latency between the scan engine and the asset being scanned, leading to decreased performance as latency increases.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a scan assistant that authenticates a scan engine without using third-party credentials, and the use of an asynchronous API to reduce scan latency and improve performance by allowing concurrent requests and eliminating the need for synchronous responses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If authenticated scan credentials are used to perform scans on network assets, then scan authentication and authorization are improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to the need for creating, managing, and distributing credentials with administrative or root access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a scan assistant as an intermediary component that runs locally on the target asset. This scan assistant handles authentication by establishing a secure channel between the scan engine and the asset, eliminating the need for complex credential management. The scan assistant acts as a mediator that enables authenticated scanning without requiring administrative or root credentials to be created, managed, or distributed.
2Reliability
If synchronous scan requests are sent from the scan engine to the asset, then request-response reliability is improved, but scan performance deteriorates due to round trip latency affecting hundreds or thousands of sequential requests
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an asynchronous API that allows the scan engine to send multiple scan requests in advance without waiting for responses. The scan assistant receives and queues these preliminary requests, then processes them sequentially and returns results. This preliminary action approach allows hundreds or thousands of requests to be sent concurrently, dramatically improving scan performance while maintaining reliability through proper request tracking and response matching.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a static synchronous request-response model to a dynamic asynchronous model. The asynchronous API enables the scan engine to dynamically send requests without being blocked by latency, while the scan assistant dynamically processes requests in the background and returns results when ready. This dynamic approach maintains the reliability of request-response communication while eliminating performance degradation from sequential processing.
3Loss of information
If scan requests are sent each time a scan is performed, then scan freshness is improved, but scan latency increases due to lost performance from repeated request transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the asynchronous API to send scan requests in advance before they are actually needed. The scan assistant receives and processes these preliminary requests, preparing results ahead of time. When the scan engine needs the scan data, it is already available, eliminating latency. This approach maintains scan freshness by ensuring up-to-date information is ready when needed while avoiding the time loss of transmitting requests at the last moment.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for authenticated asset assessment is provided. The method includes authenticating, by a scan assistant, a scan engine with the scan assistant for executing one or more scan operations on the asset to determine a state of the asset. The asset includes at least one computing resource. The method also includes receiving, by the scan assistant, a plurality of scan requests associated with the one or more scan operations from the scan engine. The method further includes responding, by the scan assistant, to at least one scan request of the plurality of scan requests by transmitting one or more scan responses to the scan engine after receiving the plurality of scan requests. The scan assistant and the scan engine implement an asynchronous communication protocol that permits the scan engine to send the scan requests without waiting for scan responses for previous scan requests.