Context:
- I’m developing a web dashboard to monitor server resource usage.
- Users create accounts and download a monitoring program onto their servers.
- The program reports stats back to the central server’s database.
- The user downloads the monitoring program to put on the server (If there is a better way of doing this please do let me know).
- Each user should only see their own server data in the dashboard.
Challenge:
- I need a way to automatically associate the downloaded program with the user who downloaded it.
- The program should also report user-specific stats back to the database, identifying the correct user account.
Data Storage:
- Which storage mechanisms (database, user profiles, environment variables) are best suited for storing user-specific information (API keys, user IDs) on the server where the program runs?
- How can I securely store or transmit this information without compromising user privacy?
Programmatic Association:
- What approaches can I implement in the program to link itself to the user who downloaded it (e.g., unique identifiers, authentication tokens)?
- How can I ensure smooth association if the program download or installation process involves multiple steps or intermediaries?
Data Reporting:
- How can I structure the data reported by the program to clearly identify the associated user account (e.g., embedding user ID, separate data streams)?
- What strategies can I use to efficiently and securely transmit this data to the central server?