Implementation of rolling key to identify systems inventories

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods for implementation of a rolling key to identify systems inventories. One method may include receiving, by an inventory system from a client system, a key and a key component, wherein the key component comprises a random string of characters generated by the client system, transmitting an acknowledgement to the client system that the key component was received by the inventory system, the acknowledgement to cause the client system to store the key component as part of a new key used to identify the client system, and storing the key component as part of the new key to identify the client system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by an inventory system from a client system, a key and a key component,   wherein the key component comprises a random string of characters generated by the client system,   transmitting an acknowledgement to the client system that the key component was received by the inventory system, the acknowledgement to cause the client system to store the key component as part of a new key used to identify the client system, and   storing the key component as part of the new key to identify the client system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein storing the key component as part of the new key to identify the client system comprises creating a new record in an inventory database of the inventory server and associating the key component with the client system in the new record. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the acknowledgement comprises an indication that there is not a key associated with the client system in the inventory system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the inventory system of the inventory server comprises the inventory database, wherein the inventory system identifies the client system in view of a record stored in the inventory database, the record comprising an association between the key and the client system. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising:
 appending the key component to a key component list; and 
 removing a least recently used key component from the key component list. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the key component list comprises one or more key components and wherein the key used to identify the client system comprises a subset of the one or more key components of the key component list. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising:
 storing a hash of the key component list, the hash utilized to verify that each key component of the key component list was a key previously used to identify the client system. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the key component is stored in response to receiving an indication from the client system that the key component received by the client system in the acknowledgment is the key component generated by the client system. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the client system executes a key management component, wherein the key management component performs functions corresponding to management of the key, the key component, and the key component list associated with the client system. 
     
     
         10 . A system comprising:
 a memory;   a processing device operatively coupled to the memory, the processing device to:
 receive, at a server, a communication from a client system, the communication comprising a key; 
   identify the client system using the key;   generate, by the server, a key component comprising a random string of characters,   transmitting a communication comprising the key component to the client system, and   responsive to receiving an acknowledgment that the client system received the key component, store the key component as a new key to identify the client system.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the processing device is further to send a confirmation to the client system that the key component received in the acknowledgement matches the key component generated by the server, the confirmation causing the client system to store the key component as the new key to identify the client system. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein to store the key component, the processing device is to append the key component to a key component data structure and remove a least recently used key component from the key component data structure. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the key component data structure comprises a hash of a key component list. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the key component list comprises a list of key components previously used to identify the client system. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium including instructions that,
 when accessed by a processing device, cause the processing device to:   generate, by a client system, a key component comprising a random string of characters;   transmit, to an inventory server, a communication comprising a key and the key component, wherein the key is used as an identifier to identify the client system in an inventory database of the inventory server;   receive, from the inventory server, an acknowledgment that the client system has been identified in the inventory database and that the inventory server received the key component; and   responsive to receiving the acknowledgment, store the key component as part of a new key to identify the client system.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the client system comprises a virtual machine executing on a physical host machine and wherein the inventory server comprises an inventory system to maintain an inventory of client systems associated with a computing environment. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the inventory system of the inventory server comprises the inventory database, wherein the inventory system identifies the client system in view of a record stored in the inventory database,
 the record comprising an association between the key and the client system.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the key transmitted to the inventory server comprises a string of characters stored at both the client system and the inventory server to identify the client system upon communication of the client system with the inventory server. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein
 storing the key component comprises causes the processor to:   append the key component to a key component data structure; and   remove a least recently used key component from the key component data structure.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein the processing device is further to:
 store a hash of the key component data structure, the hash utilized to verify that each key component of the key component list was previously a key used to identify the client system.