Seamless Certificate Replacement in Hyperconverged Infrastructure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing certificate management systems in hyperconverged infrastructure environments face downtime and broken SSL trust when replacing digital certificates, impacting communication between endpoints due to the need for manual administration and sequential replacement processes.
Innovation Solution
A seamless certificate management unit that receives a certificate replacement request, places a new certificate while maintaining existing communication using the old certificate, discovers and updates dependent endpoints, and decommissions the old certificate after ensuring seamless transition to the new one, utilizing a certificate dependency table to manage the process without downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual certificate replacement is performed sequentially, then certificate security is improved, but system downtime increases and communication between endpoints is broken
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by installing the new certificate alongside the old certificate before any communication occurs, rather than replacing the old certificate first. This allows the new certificate to be prepared and validated in advance, eliminating the need for downtime during actual replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a certificate management system as an intermediary that automatically discovers dependent endpoints, monitors communication status, and orchestrates the certificate transition process. This intermediary manages the complexity of coordinating multiple endpoints, allowing seamless replacement without manual intervention or downtime.
2Productivity
If automated certificate replacement is implemented, then productivity is improved, but complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by allowing the certificate management system to automatically discover dependent endpoints, monitor communication status, and complete the replacement process without human intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously managing the entire certificate lifecycle and coordination across multiple components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal certificate management system that handles multiple functions: automatic endpoint discovery, communication monitoring, certificate installation, and transition orchestration. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate tools and manual processes into a single automated system.
3Ease of operation
If sequential certificate replacement is used, then ease of operation is maintained, but loss of time increases due to manual administration
Solution Approach 1:
The system eliminates manual administration by implementing self-service automation where the certificate management system independently discovers endpoints, monitors communication, and executes the replacement process. This removes the time-consuming manual steps while maintaining operational simplicity through automated workflows.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors communication status between endpoints during the certificate replacement process. This real-time feedback allows the system to adapt and ensure seamless transition, maintaining ease of operation while dramatically reducing administration time through automated decision-making.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for seamless certificate replacement for endpoints in hyperconverged infrastructure are disclosed. In one example, a certificate replacement request for an endpoint may be received. Upon receiving the certificate replacement request, a new certificate may be placed in the endpoint such that the endpoint includes an old certificate and the new certificate. Further, dependent endpoints having communication with the endpoint using the old certificate may be discovered and monitored. Furthermore, the new certificate of the endpoint may be placed in the discovered dependent endpoints and existing communication between the endpoint and each of the discovered dependent endpoints using the old certificate may be maintained. Upon completion of the existing communication, next communication between the endpoint and each of the discovered dependent endpoints may be enabled using the new certificate. Then, the old certificate may be decommissioned from the endpoint and the discovered dependent endpoints.