Directory service for a computer network

• US 20050027797A1
• Filed: 08/04/2004
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Nolan, Sean P., Sanderman, David S., San Andres, Ramon J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,577,092 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/201 between storage system components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A distributed directory service for an on-line services network comprises multiple, separate services, referred to as “Directory Service Providers,” running on respective groups of application servers. Each Directory Service Provider stores and provides access to a respective hierarchical directory structure, with nodes of the directory structures representing the various on-line services and other content entities which may be accessed by end users of the network. Junction point nodes are used to provide user-transparent links between the different directory structures, so that the directory structures appear to end users as a single, hierarchical directory. A common application program interface (API) is implemented by all Directory Service Providers, allowing client applications running on computers of end users to access the different directory structures using a common set of software methods. Data items that are shared by multiple nodes, such as icon bitmaps and sound files, are optionally stored by the Directory Service Providers within a shared database (separately from the nodes), and are accessed via special API methods. Various forms of node filtering, including language-based filtering and access rights filtering, are performed by the Directory Service Providers to determine which nodes to show to end users.

Claims

1-49. -49. (Canceled)

50. In a computer network in which different users have different access rights with respect to different content entities, a method of providing users with a filtered directory of content entities, comprising the steps of:

(a) storing a plurality of content nodes within a hierarchical directory structure on at least one server, each of said content nodes comprising a respective list of properties, said content nodes representing and providing access to said content entities;

(b) receiving requests at said server for said content nodes, said requests generated on a client computer of a user of said network;

(c) for each content node requested in step (b), doing each of

(i) determining whether said user is authorized to access said content node, and

(ii) returning properties of said content node to said client computer if and only if said user is authorized to access said content node; and

(d) using said properties returned in step (c) to construct a filtered hierarchical directory structure on a screen of said client computer.

51. The method according to claim 50, wherein said step of determining comprises reading a security property of said content node, said security property identifying a content category of which said content node is a member.

52. The method according to claim 51, wherein said step of determining further comprises using an account identifier of said user to determine whether said user is authorized to access said content category.

53. The method according to claim 50, wherein said requests for said content nodes comprise requests for all children nodes of a current node.

54-71. -71. (Canceled)