Translation Layer for ADFS Entitlement Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The migration of custom entitlement applications to Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) tokens is labor-intensive and time-consuming, requiring significant development hours for redesigning entitlement structures and integrating with internal ADFS services, leading to exponential growth in development hours and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A translation layer that converts source groups into custom entitlements known by the application, intercepting and translating single sign-on tokens, and storing corresponding entitlements in a user session, allowing the application to access them, thereby simplifying the migration process and reducing errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If applications remove references to old entitlements and integrate directly with ADFS services, then authorization capability is improved, but development time and complexity increase exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a translation layer that acts as an intermediary component between the application and ADFS services. This translation layer receives tokens from ADFS, translates the new entitlement group names into the application's original entitlement language, and presents them to the application in a familiar format. This mediator approach allows the application to integrate with ADFS without directly handling the complexity of new entitlement structures, thereby reducing development time while maintaining authorization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the integration complexity by separating the translation functionality into a distinct, reusable library component. Instead of requiring each application to implement its own translation logic, the solution creates a modular translation layer that can be independently developed, tested, and deployed. This segmentation reduces the development burden on individual applications and enables parallel development across multiple applications.
2Reliability
If applications remove references to old entitlements and integrate directly with ADFS services, then authorization capability is improved, but development complexity increases exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The translation layer serves as an intermediary that absorbs and manages the complexity of ADFS integration. It handles token translation, entitlement mapping, and compatibility layer functionality, thereby shielding applications from the underlying complexity. This allows applications to maintain their existing entitlement logic while benefiting from ADFS authorization capabilities, reducing overall development complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The translation layer is designed as a universal solution that can serve multiple applications with different entitlement structures. By creating a multi-functional library that handles various translation scenarios, the patent reduces the need for each application to independently manage integration complexity. The universal translation layer can be applied across hundreds of applications, significantly reducing cumulative development complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If comprehensive entitlement structure redesign is performed, then authorization accuracy is improved, but migration time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The translation layer is pre-configured with mapping information between ADFS entitlement groups and application-specific entitlements. This preliminary setup allows the system to perform accurate translations without requiring real-time analysis or complex runtime logic. The mappings are established in advance, enabling both high authorization accuracy and rapid migration execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The translation layer creates a virtual copy of the application's original entitlement structure that maps to the ADFS entitlement groups. Instead of requiring actual redesign of the application's entitlement architecture, the solution copies the necessary mapping relationships into the translation layer. This allows the application to continue using its original entitlement logic while accurately representing ADFS authorization decisions.
4Reliability
If entitlement structures are redesigned across hundreds of applications, then authorization capability is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The translation layer is designed as a universal, reusable component that can be deployed across hundreds of applications with a single implementation. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need to perform entitlement structure redesign in each application individually. Once the translation layer is developed and configured, it can be systematically applied to multiple applications, dramatically improving migration productivity while maintaining consistent authorization capability across the enterprise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the translation functionality into a shared library that consolidates the migration logic for multiple applications. By combining the translation infrastructure into a single reusable component rather than duplicating it across applications, the solution achieves economies of scale. This merging approach allows migration teams to focus on configuring mappings once and then rapidly deploy the solution across numerous applications, significantly improving overall migration productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a translation layer that intercepts a token and converts new group names into old entitlement verbiage based on data loaded at start-up (e.g., hash map, etc.) from a configuration file. The old entitlement verbiage may be loaded into the User Session just as it would have been if the entitlements had come from within the old application authorization structure. The remainder of the application is unaware that the authorization source has changed.