Single Sign-On Token Exchange for Multi-Server SSH Sessions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional SSH sessions require individual authentication for each server, leading to authentication fatigue and increased administrative overhead, especially when multiple servers are operated by the same entity.
Innovation Solution
Implementing Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication through an external identity provider that issues a short-lived token, which can be exchanged for SSH session tokens across multiple servers, eliminating the need for repetitive authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional individual authentication is used for each SSH session, then security verification is performed for each server, but authentication fatigue and administrative overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary authentication by obtaining an ID token from an external identity provider before establishing SSH sessions. This pre-authentication mechanism allows the client to present the ID token for multiple server connections, eliminating the need to repeat the full authentication process for each server while maintaining security verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an external identity provider as an intermediary that issues ID tokens. This intermediary serves as a trusted third party that authenticates the user once and provides tokens that can be used across multiple servers, reducing authentication fatigue while maintaining security through the intermediary's verification process.
2Reliability
If authentication is performed for each server individually, then each server can verify client identity, but time and efficiency are reduced due to repetitive authentication
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the time-consuming authentication process in advance by obtaining an ID token from the identity provider before needing to connect to multiple servers. This preliminary action stores the authentication result in a reusable token, eliminating repetitive authentication time while maintaining identity verification through the token exchange process.
Solution Approach 2:
The ID token obtained from the external identity provider serves multiple functions and can be used to authenticate with multiple different servers. This universal token replaces the need for separate authentication processes with each server, reducing total authentication time while maintaining verification reliability across all server connections.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple servers are operated by the same entity, then centralized management is possible, but authentication overhead increases without SSO
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the authentication processes across multiple servers by introducing a single ID token from an external identity provider. Instead of managing separate authentication processes for each server, the system combines them into a unified authentication mechanism where one token grants access to multiple servers operated by the same entity, reducing management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The ID token is designed with universal applicability across multiple servers within the same entity. This single token can be exchanged for server-specific tokens at any of the multiple servers, providing versatile multi-server access while simplifying authentication management through a standardized token exchange process rather than server-specific authentication procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
One example method includes receiving, at a client computing system, an identification (ID) token from an external identity provider. The ID token authenticates an identity of a user of the client computing system. A first request is provided to a server computing system for the ID token to be exchanged for a first token that is configured to allow the client computing system to establish a first Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) session with the server computing system, the first request including the ID token. The first token is received from the server computing system. The first token is used to establish the first SSH session with the server computing system.