Securely debugging different applications in a single short-lived container

A data processing system adapted for secure debugging different application instances in a single short-lived container, the system comprising:

• a host computing platform comprising one or more computers, each comprising memory and at least one processor;
• a container manager executing in the host computing platform and during execution managing a multiplicity of different containers of a containerized environment;
• and,
• a debug server containerized within one of the containers, the debug server authenticating with the container manager for the one of the containers and establishing a communicative link over a computer communications network with a debug client disposed externally to the containerized environment, the debug server proxying debug directives received from the debug client to selected ones of different application instances each executing within the one of the containers,
• the debug client authenticating an end user of the debug client externally to the containerized environment and permitting the proxying only upon authentication of the end user of the debug client, and without further need for the end user of the debug client to authenticate within the containerized environment, and responding to the authentication of the end user of the debug client externally to the containerized environment, by:
• identifying a set of the different application instances that are permitted to be debugged by the end user,
• generating a configuration file specifying the set, and
• transmitting the configuration file to the debug server for use by the debug server in limiting the proxying of the debug directives on behalf of the end user only in respect to the application instances specified in the set in the configuration file.

A computer program product for securely debugging multiple different application instances in a single short-lived container, the computer program product including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a device to cause the device to perform a method including:

• containerizing a multiplicity of different application instances into a single short-lived container in a containerized environment;
• additionally containerizing a debug server in the single short-lived container and authenticating the debug server within the containerized environment;
• establishing a communicative link between the debug server and a debug client executing remotely from the single short-lived container;
• proxying debug directives from the debug client through the debug server to selected ones of the different application instances;
• authenticating an end user of the debug client externally to the containerized environment and permitting the proxying only upon authentication of the end user of the debug client, and without further need for the end user of the debug client to authenticate within the containerized environment;
• and,
• responding to the authentication of the end user of the debug client externally to the containerized environment, by:
• identifying a set of the different application instances that are permitted to be debugged by the end user,
• generating a configuration file specifying the set, and
• transmitting the configuration file to the debug server for use by the debug server in limiting the proxying of the debug directives on behalf of the end user only in respect to the application instances specified in the set in the configuration file.