SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRANSPARENT ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT OF USER ACCESSIBLE CLOUD ASSETS

• US 20110107398A1
• Filed: 11/05/2009
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Earl, Doug, Carter, Stephen R., McClain, Carolyn Bennion, Burch, Lloyd Leon
• Granted Patent: US 8,429,716 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials

Abstract

System and method for enabling user access of cloud assets are described. In one embodiment, a method comprises authenticating a user to a system comprising a cloud computing environment in which a plurality of cloud assets are hosted; assembling a deployment associated with the authenticated user in accordance with a policy, the deployment comprising designated ones of the cloud assets; and providing a secure mechanism by which the designated ones of the cloud assets comprising the deployment are accessible by the authenticated user.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating user access of cloud assets, the method comprising:

authenticating a user to a system comprising a cloud computing environment in which a plurality of cloud assets are hosted;

assembling a deployment associated with the authenticated user in accordance with a policy, the deployment comprising designated ones of the cloud assets; and

providing a secure mechanism by which the designated ones of the cloud assets comprising the deployment are accessible by the authenticated user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the policy is defined by an enterprise of which the authenticated user is a member.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the designated cloud assets is a shared asset.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the designated cloud assets is already instantiated at a time of the assembling.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the assembling comprises instantiating at least one of the designated cloud assets.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising terminating the deployment responsive to a termination request received from one of the authenticated users and one of the designated cloud assets.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the authenticating comprises the user authenticating to a secure bridge mechanism and wherein the providing a secure mechanism comprises generating a key pair at the secure bridge.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the key pair is a public-private key pair and wherein the private key is maintained by the secure bridge and is associated with an ID of the user and the public key is distributed to the designated cloud assets.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising adding cloud assets to the deployment.

10. A system for enabling user access of cloud assets, the system comprising:

means for authenticating a user to a system comprising a cloud computing environment in which a plurality of cloud assets are hosted;

means for assembling a deployment associated with the authenticated user in accordance with a policy, the deployment comprising designated ones of the cloud assets comprising deployment components; and

means for providing a secure mechanism by which the designated ones of the cloud assets comprising the deployment are accessible by the authenticated user.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein at least one of the deployment components is a shared asset.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein at least one of the deployment components is already instantiated at a time of the assembling.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the means for assembling comprises means for instantiating at least one of the deployment components.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising means for terminating the deployment responsive to a termination request received from one of the authenticated user and one of the deployment components.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the means for authenticating comprises a secure bridge mechanism for generating a key pair.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the key pair is a public-private key pair and wherein the private key is maintained by the secure bridge and is associated with an ID of the user and the public key is distributed to the designated cloud assets.

18. A system for facilitating user access of cloud assets, the system comprising:

a first computing environment;

a second computing environment comprising a cloud computing environment, the second computing environment comprising;

a plurality of cloud assets;

a routing system for providing access to the cloud assets; and

a secure bridge for interconnecting the first and second computing environments;

wherein responsive to a user'"'"'s establishing an identity with the secure bridge, the secure bridge instructs components of the routing system to assemble a deployment comprising selected ones of the cloud assets in accordance with policy and operating requirements of the user and further secures the deployment such that only the user has access thereto.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the secure bridge secures the deployment via a key pair.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the key pair comprises a public-private key pair, wherein the public key is populated to the selected ones of the cloud assets and the private key is maintained at the secure bridge and wherein association of the private key is restricted to the identity established by the user.