Fast-reconnection of negotiable authentication network clients

One or more computer-readable memory comprising computer-executable instructions for accelerating subsequent authentications of a client application program to a server application program, the computer-executable instructions directed to steps comprising:

• performing an initial authentication of a client application program executing on a client computing device executing the computer-readable instructions to a server application program executing on a server computing device remote from the client computing device, the initial authentication comprising agreeing on a fast reconnect mechanism for subsequent authentications within a single conversation, the single conversation comprising the initial authentication, the agreeing on the fast reconnect mechanism comprising both the client computing device and the server computing device selecting a same identities of the single conversation and a same set of one or more encryption keys
• receiving, from the client application program, a received identifier and a received signed identifier together, both provided to the server application program, by the client application program, to subsequently authenticate the client application program to the server application program;
• obtaining at least one encryption key from among the set of one or more encryption keys that are associated with the received identifier, the received identifier purporting to identify the single conversation within which the subsequent authentication is being performed;
• verifying, at the server computing device, the received cryptographically signed identifier using the obtained at least one encryption key;
• requesting a full authentication if the received cryptographically signed identifier was not verified;
• and
• generating an authentication of the client application program to the server application program if the cryptographically signed identifier was verified, the verification proving that the client application program is a same client application program that was initially authenticated within the same conversation.

A system for reducing authentication overhead in network communications comprising:

• a client computing device comprising:
• a client application program, a client security package performing a full authentication of the client application program to a server application program and agreeing on a fast reconnect mechanism for subsequent authentications within a single conversation, the single conversation comprising the full authentication, and a client fast reconnect component associated with the agreed-upon fast reconnect mechanism, the client fast reconnect component selecting, in combination with server fast connect component, a same identifier of the single conversation and a same of one or more encryption keys, the client fast reconnect component generating, on the client computing device, using at least one encryption key from among the same set of one or more encryption keys, a cryptographic signature of the same identifier of the single conversation for each subsequent communication that requires authentication within the singe conversation between the client application program and the server application program;
• and
• a server computing device communicationally coupled to the client computing device, the server computing device comprising:
• the server application program, a server security package for performing the full authentication of the client application program to the server application program, and the server fast reconnect component selecting, in combination with the client fast reconnect component, the same identifier of the single conversation and the same set of one or more encryption keys, the server fast reconnect component validating, on the server computing device, the cryptographic signature of the same identifier of the same conversation that was generated by the client fast reconnect component for each subsequent communication within the single conversation between the client application program and the server application program that requires authentication of the client application program to the server application program.