Method and system for providing multiple virtual portals on a computer network

• US 20040078371A1
• Filed: 05/22/2003
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Perfect Order, Inc. (Versatile Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Perfect Order, Inc. (Versatile Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Johnson, Terry, Libby, Andrew, Worrall, Joel, Kratzer, William
• Application Number:
  US10/445,726
• Publication Number:
  US 20040078371A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database

Abstract

A method and system of managing data for a plurality of users is disclosed. The method and system include a maintaining, in a computer memory, of a plurality of databases that each comprise user access data, a providing of at least one network portal supported by a plurality of virtual hosts, a receiving of a user identification from at least one of the plurality of users, a selecting, based on the received user identification, from the plurality of virtual hosts, of a selected virtual host to uniquely present the portal to the user, and an identifying, in accordance with the selected virtual host, from the plurality of databases, of at least one authorized database accessible to the user.

Claims

1. A method of managing data for a plurality of users, comprising:

maintaining, in a computer memory, a plurality of databases that each comprise user access data;

providing at least one network portal supported by a plurality of virtual hosts;

receiving a user identification from at least one of the plurality of users;

selecting, based on the received user identification, from the plurality of virtual hosts, a selected virtual host to uniquely present the portal to the user; and

identifying, in accordance with the selected virtual host, from the plurality of databases, at least one authorized database accessible to the user, wherein the user is excluded from access to unauthorized databases associated with unselected ones of the virtual hosts.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying is further in accordance with a role of the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user identification comprises a network address.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying further comprises identifying at least one accessible application associated with the at least one authorized database.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a central administrator in communication with each of the virtual hosts.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing one local administrator in communication with each of the virtual hosts.

7. A networked data management system including a plurality of databases, a plurality of virtual portal hosts, and a central support layer in communication with each of the virtual portal hosts and each of the databases, comprising:

computer program instructions that, when executed by a computer processor in the central support layer, cause the computer processor to execute the steps of;

maintaining, in a computer memory associated with the computer processor, a plurality of databases that each comprise user access data;

receiving a user identification in the central support layer from at least one of a plurality of users;

selecting, based on the received user identification, from the plurality of virtual portal hosts, a selected virtual portal host to uniquely present the portal to the user correspondent to the user identification; and

identifying, in accordance with the selected virtual portal host, from the plurality of databases, at least one authorized database accessible to the user.

8. The networked data management system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of virtual portal hosts support a single portal.

9. The networked data management system of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of virtual portal hosts uniquely prevents the single portal to the user of that virtual portal host.

10. The networked data management system of claim 7, wherein the user identification comprises one selected from the group consisting of an administrator and a non-administrator.

11. The networked data management system of claim 10, wherein the administrator comprises one selected from the group consisting of a local administrator and a global administrator.

12. The networked data management system of claim 11, wherein the local administrator comprises a communication with a single one of the virtual portal hosts.

13. The networked data management system of claim 11, wherein the global administrator comprises a communication with all of the plurality of virtual portal hosts.

14. The networked data management system of claim 10, wherein the user identification further comprises a role of the user.

15. The networked data management system of claim 14, wherein the user identification further comprises a network address.

16. The networked data management system of claim 7, further comprising at least one accessible application associated with the at least one authorized database.

17. A networked data management system, comprising:

a plurality of databases that each comprise user access data associated with a single portal;

a plurality of virtual portal hosts communicatively connected to the single portal; and

a central support layer in communication with each of the virtual portal hosts and each of the databases;

wherein a user identification is received in the central support layer from at least one of a plurality of users, and wherein, based on the received user identification, one of the virtual portal hosts is selected by the central support layer to uniquely present the single portal and selected ones of the plurality of databases to the user correspondent to the user identification, in accordance with the user identification.

18. The networked data management system of claim 17, wherein the user identification comprises one selected from the group consisting of a local administrator and a global administrator.

19. The networked data management system of claim 17, wherein the user identification comprises a role of the user and a network address.

20. The networked data management system of claim 17, further comprising at least one accessible application associated with the selected ones of the plurality of databases.