VDI Process Identifier Correlation for User Identity Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) systems, identifying real user details is challenging due to the intermediary nature of the VDI server, which can mask multiple users as a single user, making it difficult for monitoring solutions to gather accurate user information.
Innovation Solution
The system employs an identifier engine to obtain a process identifier, a utility engine to retrieve user details via an API, and an informer engine to communicate these details to a monitoring solution, enriching the information available to the online application by correlating process identifiers with user identities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a VDI server is used to provide remote sessions, then application accessibility is improved, but user identification accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that sits between the VDI server and monitoring solutions. This intermediary captures process identifiers from the VDI server, correlates them with user information stored in databases, and forwards enriched user details to monitoring applications. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining the VDI server's role in providing accessible applications while adding a layer that recovers accurate user identification information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where user information is retrieved based on process identifiers and fed back into the monitoring ecosystem. The VDI server sends process identifiers, the system queries user information databases, and the retrieved user details are returned to enrich monitoring data. This feedback mechanism ensures that user identification accuracy is restored without compromising application accessibility through the VDI infrastructure.
2Ease of operation
If a VDI server acts as an intermediary, then remote session management is improved, but information completeness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediary system captures process identifiers from the VDI server and uses them to query user information databases. It then enriches the information available to monitoring solutions by adding complete user details including usernames, IP addresses, and other identifying information. This maintains the ease of remote session management through the VDI server while preventing information loss by supplementing the data stream with comprehensive user information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing correlations between process identifiers and user information through database queries. When the VDI server generates a process identifier for a remote session, the system proactively retrieves and stores the associated user information before monitoring needs arise. This preliminary enrichment ensures that complete user information is available without disrupting the streamlined remote session management capabilities of the VDI server.
3Measurement precision
If process identifiers are correlated with user identities, then user detail accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component that handles the complexity of correlating process identifiers with user identities. This intermediary receives process identifiers from the VDI server, queries user information databases, performs the correlation matching, and returns enriched user details to monitoring solutions. By concentrating the complex correlation logic in a dedicated intermediary layer, the system achieves high user detail accuracy while isolating complexity away from the core VDI server and monitoring applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service mechanisms where the intermediary automatically queries user information databases using process identifiers without requiring manual intervention. The correlation between process identifiers and user identities is established through automated database lookups and matching algorithms. This self-service approach maintains high user detail accuracy while reducing operational complexity by eliminating the need for manual user identification processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) server is to receive a request from a client device to access an application on an application server, establish a session between the VDI server and the application server to allow the client device to access the application on the application server via the VDI server, obtain a process identifier of the session, obtain identity information of a user of the client device associated with a communication of the session based on the process identifier, and provide identity details of the user of the client device associated with the communication of the session to a monitor device that monitors access to the application on the application server.