Method and system for enforcing governance across multiple content repositories using a content broker

• US 10,742,771 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2019
• Issued: 08/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Open Text Corporation
• Original Assignee: Open Text Corporation
• Inventors: Mohen, Michael T., Walia, Raman, Addaguduru, Chandra Mouli, Kumar, Pardeep
• Primary Examiner(s): Abu Roumi, Mahran Y
• Application Number:
  US16/397,802
• Publication Number:
  US 20190253529A1
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 709226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data

Abstract

A method and system for a content broker, including a unified object index, where the content broker is coupled to the unified object index and receives, from a requesting entity, a request to perform an action on an object and the object is stored in the content repository. The method further including obtaining the object associated with the request from a content repository, determining, using the unified object index, a normalized object type associated with the object, obtaining a governance rule based on the normalized object type, and servicing the request using the governance rule.

Claims

1. A system for servicing requests associated with a content management system, the system comprising:

a memory storing a unified object index of a set of objects, the unified object index including, for each object in the set of objects, an associated object identifier and an associated content repository-specific object type;

a processor;

a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a processor-based application, the processor-based application including instructions which when executed, will cause the processor to;

maintain associations between content repository-specific object types of objects stored in multiple distinct content repositories and an associated first normalized object type, including an association between a first content repository-specific object type of objects stored in a first content repository and the associated first normalized object type;

maintain an association between the associated first normalized object type and a governance rule, the governance rule comprising a context definition that specifies a context under which the governance rule applies;

receive a first request from a web application, the first request identifying a first object of the first content repository-specific object type and a first action to be performed with respect to the first object;

in response to the received first request, obtain the associated first normalized object type based on the first object, wherein obtaining the associated first normalized object type based on the first object comprises determining that the first object is of the associated first content repository-specific object type from the unified object index and obtaining the first normalized object type using the association between the associated first content repository-specific object type and the associated first normalized object type;

obtain the governance rule based on the associated first normalized object type, the governance rule including a permitted action that is allowed on the associated first object in the context;

determine that the governance rule applies to the first request based on the context definition; and

service the first request using the governance rule.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the objects stored in the multiple distinct content repositories comprises associated metadata and associated content.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each of the content repository-specific object types defines:

a respective data structure of objects of that repository-specific object type; and

procedures to manipulate the associated metadata and associated content of objects of that repository-specific object type.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the governance rule includes a metadata visibility rule that specifies which metadata of the associated metadata of the first object is visible to the web application when the first request is serviced.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the governance rule includes a content visibility rule that specifies which content of the associated content of the first object is visible to the web application when the first request is serviced.

6. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium storing therein a set of computer executable instructions, the set of computer executable instructions comprising instructions for:

maintaining associations between content repository-specific object types of objects stored in multiple distinct content repositories and an associated first normalized object type, including an association between a first content repository-specific object type of objects stored in a first content repository and the associated first normalized object type;

maintaining an association between the associated first normalized object type and a governance rule, the governance rule comprising a context definition that specifies a context under which the governance rule applies;

receiving a first request from a web application, the associated first request identifying a first object of the first content repository-specific object type and a first action to be performed with respect to the first object;

in response to the received first request, obtaining the associated first normalized object type based on the first object, wherein obtaining the associated first normalized object type based on the first object comprises determining that the first object is of the first content repository-specific object type from a unified object index and obtaining the first normalized object type using the association between the first content repository-specific object type and the associated first normalized object type, wherein the unified object index includes, for each object from the objects stored in the multiple distinct content repositories, an associated object identifier and an associated repository-specific object type;

obtaining the governance rule based on the associated first normalized object type, the governance rule including a permitted action that is allowed on the first object in the context;

determining that the governance rule applies to the first request based on the context definition; and

servicing the first request using the governance rule.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein each of the objects stored in the multiple distinct content repositories comprises associated metadata and associated content.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein each of the content repository-specific object types defines:

a respective data structure of objects of that repository-specific object type; and

procedures to manipulate the associated metadata and associated content of objects of that repository-specific object type.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the governance rule includes a metadata visibility rule that specifies which metadata of the associated metadata of the first object is visible to the web application when the first request is serviced.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the governance rule includes a content visibility rule that specifies which content of the associated content of the first object is visible to the web application when the first request is serviced.

11. A method comprising:

maintaining associations between content repository-specific object types of objects stored in multiple distinct content repositories and an associated first normalized object type, including an association between a first content repository-specific object type of objects stored in a first content repository and the associated first normalized object type;

maintaining an association between the associated first normalized object type and a governance rule, the governance rule comprising a context definition that specifies a context under which the governance rule applies;

receiving a first request from a web application, the first request identifying a first object of the first content repository-specific object type and a first action to be performed with respect to the first object;

in response to the received first request, obtaining the associated first normalized object type based on the first object, wherein obtaining the associated first normalized object type based on the first object comprises determining that the first object is of the first content repository-specific object type from a unified object index and obtaining the associated first normalized object type using the association between the associated first content repository-specific object type and the associated first normalized object type, wherein the unified object index includes, for each object from the objects stored in the multiple distinct content repositories, an associated object identifier and an associated repository-specific object type;

obtaining the governance rule based on the associated first normalized object type, the governance rule including a permitted action that is allowed on the first object in the context;

determining that the governance rule applies to the request based on the context definition; and

servicing the first request using the governance rule.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein each of the objects stored in the multiple distinct content repositories comprises associated metadata and associated content.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the content repository-specific object types defines:

a respective data structure of objects of that repository-specific object type; and

procedures to manipulate the associated metadata and associated content of objects of that repository-specific object type.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the governance rule includes a metadata visibility rule that specifies which metadata of the associated metadata of the first object is visible to the web application when the first request is serviced.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the governance rule includes a content visibility rule that specifies which content of the associated content of the first object is visible to the web application when the first request is serviced.