Centralized SSH Key Administration Portal for SFTP Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing secure file transfer systems face challenges in managing SSH keys across multiple applications and servers, particularly in large enterprises like payment transaction processing, where manual management is cumbersome and lacks centralized control.
Innovation Solution
A centralized SSH key administration system using an SSH key administration portal to create, manage, and distribute SSH keys across multiple SFTP API servers, integrating with a vault for passphrase-based authentication and secure storage, allowing for scalable and unified management of SSH keys.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual SSH key management is used across multiple servers, then each server can be configured independently, but the complexity of managing keys across many servers increases significantly and centralized control is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary SSH key administration server that acts as a mediator between administrators and multiple SFTP API servers. This server centralizes key generation, distribution, and management functions, eliminating the need for manual key management on each individual server while maintaining centralized control across the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple分散 key management functions into a single centralized SSH key administration server. This consolidation combines key generation, storage, distribution, and revocation capabilities in one system, reducing operational complexity while improving ease of management across multiple servers.
2Productivity
If SSH keys are manually distributed to multiple servers, then each server can be configured, but the time and effort required for key distribution and updates increases with the number of servers
Solution Approach 1:
The SSH key administration server performs preliminary actions by pre-generating and securely storing SSH key pairs before they are needed for SFTP operations. When a new SFTP API server is added or needs key updates, the administration server can quickly provision keys without requiring manual generation and distribution, significantly reducing the time and effort required for key management across multiple servers.
3Reliability
If centralized SSH key management is implemented, then key distribution and control are improved, but the system requires additional infrastructure and configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The SSH key administration server is designed as a universal platform that can manage SSH keys for multiple SFTP API servers across different platforms and applications. This multi-functional design consolidates what could be multiple separate key management systems into a single infrastructure, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high security and reliability through centralized control.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods of centralized, global secure shell (SSH) key administration and management are provided, where a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) application programming interface (API) can be leveraged to integrate centralized SSH key administration across any and all SFTP API or other file transfer installations. This allows an administrative entity to use a central server, for example, to perform client and server SSH key administration and management (e.g., SSH key creation, removal, distribution, and expiration reporting/tracking), scheduling, configuration updates, and the like across an unlimited number of file transfer installations and platforms (and therefore, is also scalable). A single management interface can be utilized for viewing and updating SSH keys for applications, and SSH keys can be propagated to application servers where the SSH keys can be activated based on a scheduled time.