Method and system for virtual website domain name service

• US 20040059793A1
• Filed: 09/20/2002
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kintera, Inc. (Blackbaud Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Kintera, Inc. (Blackbaud Incorporated)
• Inventors: Feig, Ephraim, Gruber, Harry E., Gruber, Allen B., Chen, Jeane S.
• Application Number:
  US10/252,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20040059793A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links

Abstract

A method for creating a virtual uniform resource locator (URL) for a customer wherein the virtual URL is hosted by an application service provider (ASP). The method comprises the steps of registering a wildcard domain name */ASP.net, the wildcard domain name directing requests of the form anyname/ASP.net to ASP'"'"'s home page ASP.net, creating a virtual URL customer/ASP.net, wherein the customer is named before the ASP, creating a customer subdirectory ASP/customer.net, creating an index containing a list of customer subdirectories and a list of virtual URLs, wherein the index maps a virtual URL to a corresponding customer subdirectory, receiving an http request from a user for a virtual URL, determining the corresponding customer subdirectory for the requested virtual URL from the index, directing the user to the corresponding customer subdirectory.

Claims

1. A method for creating a virtual uniform resource locator (URL) for a customer wherein the virtual URL is hosted by an application service provider (ASP), comprising the steps of:

registering a wildcard domain name */ASP.net, the wildcard domain name directing requests of the form anyname/ASP.net to ASP'"'"'s home page ASP.net;

creating a virtual URL customer/ASP.net, wherein the customer is named before the ASP;

creating a customer subdirectory ASP/customer.net;

creating an index containing a list of customer subdirectories and a list of virtual URLs, wherein the index maps a virtual URL to a corresponding customer subdirectory;

receiving an http request from a user for a virtual URL;

determining the corresponding customer subdirectory for the requested virtual URL from the index;

directing the user to the corresponding customer subdirectory.

2. A method for redirecting a user request for a virtual uniform resource locator (URL) to a customer subdirectory, the virtual URL and the customer subdirectory being hosted by an application service provider (ASP), comprising the steps of:

registering a wildcard domain name */ASP.net, the wildcard domain name directing all requests of the form anyname/ASP.net to ASP'"'"'s home page ASP.net;

creating a virtual URL customer/ASP.net, wherein the customer is named before the ASP;

creating a customer subdirectory ASP/customer.net;

creating, in the ASP'"'"'s home page, an index containing a list of customer subdirectories and a list of virtual URLs, wherein the index maps a virtual URL to a corresponding customer subdirectory;

receiving an http request from a user for a virtual URL;

determining the corresponding customer subdirectory for the requested virtual URL from the index; and

directing the user to the corresponding customer subdirectory.