System, method and program product for satisfying a service requirement

• US 20050240422A1
• Filed: 04/23/2004
• Published: 10/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kaminsky, David Louis, Doyle, Ronald Patrick
• Granted Patent: US 8,914,518 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

An intermediary or intermediaries are provided to allow a service requestor to communicate with a service provider according to a service requirement or service policy set forth by the service provider which the service requester is unable to meet directly. To this end, the service requestor determines whether it can communicate with the service provider according to the service requirement. If the service requestor is unable to satisfy the service requirement, but does have some property which is translatable, then the service requestor finds an intermediary that can translate the service requestor'"'"'s property in order to satisfy the service provider'"'"'s service requirement. Once the intermediary is found, the service requestor requests translation of its property to satisfy the service provider'"'"'s service requirement. Thus, the service requestor receives service from the service provider while adhering to the service provider'"'"'s service policy.

Claims

1. A system for providing communication between a requester and a service provider when the requestor cannot satisfy a service requirement of the service provider, the service provider being operable to provide service upon successful satisfaction of the service requirement, the requestor being operable to communicate using a first property which does not satisfy or optimize the service requirement, the system comprising:

an input for receiving a first message from the requestor containing the first property;

a translation mechanism for translating the first property; and

an output for sending a second message containing the translated property allowing communication between the requestor and service provider to satisfy the service requirement.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a registration mechanism for registering the system with a broker.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the service requirement is a security authentication mechanism.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the input receives the service requirement using WS-Policy constructs.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the registration mechanism uses WS-Policy constructs.

6. The system of claim 2 wherein a cost is associated with the intermediary for translating the first property.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the cost is a financial constraint or a performance constraint.

8. A program product stored on a recordable medium for providing communication between a requestor and a service provider when the requestor cannot satisfy a service requirement of the service provider, the requester being operable to communicate using a first property which does not satisfy the service requirement, the program product when executed, comprising:

program code for receiving a first message from the requestor containing the first property;

program code for translating the first property; and

program code for sending a second message containing the translated property allowing communication between the requestor and service provider to satisfy the service requirement.

9. The program product of claim 8, further comprising:

program code for registering the program product with a broker.

10. The program product of claim 8 wherein the service requirement is a security authentication mechanism.

11. The program product of claim 8 wherein the service requirement is expressed using WS-Policy constructs.

12. The program product of claim 9 wherein the program code for registering the program product with the broker uses WS-Policy constructs.

13. The program product of claim 9 wherein a cost is associated with translating the first property.

14. The program product of claim 13 wherein the cost is a financial constraint or performance constraint.

15. A method for using an intermediary for translating operations between a property of a service requestor to satisfy a service requirement of a service provider, comprising:

receiving a service requirement from the service provider which controls the communication between the service requestor and service provider;

determining that the service requirement cannot be satisfied by the service requestor;

determining an intermediary which provides a translation operation of the property to satisfy the service requirement;

translating the property to satisfy the service requirement; and

communicating between the service requestor and the service provider in accordance with the service requirement.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

registering the intermediary.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

determining a constraint of the requestor, wherein the step of determining the intermediary includes the constraint of the requestor.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the service requirement is described using metadata.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the metadata is communicated using WS-Policy constructs.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the service requirement is an authentication policy or performance policy.

21. A computer readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to establish communication between a service requester having a property and a service provider having a service requirement, wherein the service requester is unable to satisfy the service requirement, the computer system performing the steps of:

receiving a service requirement which controls the communication between the service requestor and service provider;

determining that the service requirement cannot be satisfied by the service requester;

determining an intermediary which provides a translation operation of the property to satisfy the service requirement;

translating the property to satisfy the service requirement; and

communicating between the service requestor and the service provider in accordance with the service requirement.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 21 further comprising:

registering the intermediary.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 21 further comprising:

determining a constraint of the requestor, wherein the step of determining the intermediary includes the constraint of the requester.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the service requirement is described using metadata.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein the metadata is communicated using WS-Policy constructs.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein the service requirement is an authentication policy or performance policy.