System and method for routing messages

• US 20060031586A1
• Filed: 04/25/2005
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Inventors: Connelly, Thomas J., Shabash, Marina, Vaskas, Joseph A., Sethi, Vincent, Narayanan, Chandramouli X., Wos, Rosemarie, Barlow, Athena
• Granted Patent: US 7,376,830 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0464 using hop-by-hop encryption, i.e. wherein an intermediate entity decrypts the information and re-encrypts it before forwarding it
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

A hub-and-spoke communication arrangement is provided, in which the “hub” includes a server computer system. The “spokes” are other computers that act as message originators and/or destinations. All internal-to-external messages, and vice versa, are routed through the server computer system to reduce the number of proprietary connections needed between the internal and external entities. In addition, the server computer system provides protocol conversion, message payload conversion, encryption conversion, message broadcast, and/or message archival functionality, so that the “spoke” computers need not be concerned with providing such functionality on their own.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for routing messages, comprising the steps of:

receiving a message via a first protocol, the message having a data payload in a first format;

determining a destination for the message;

determining a second protocol for the destination;

determining whether the first format of the data payload is to be converted to a second format;

converting the data payload from the first format to the second format, if it is determined that the first format of the data payload is to be converted to the second format; and

transmitting the message to the destination via the second protocol′

wherein the message is transmitted in the first format if the data payload was not converted from the first format to the second format, and

wherein the message is transmitted in the second format to the destination, if the data payload was converted from the first format to the second format.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the message is to be encrypted; and

encrypting the message, if it is determined that the message is to be encrypted,

wherein the encrypted message is transmitted to the destination in the transmitting step.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message as received is encrypted according to a first encryption process, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

determining whether the message is to be encrypted prior to being transmitted to the destination;

decrypting the message, if it is determined that the message is not to be encrypted prior to being transmitted to the destination, wherein the decrypted message is transmitted to the destination;

determining whether the message is to be encrypted according to a second encryption process prior to being transmitted to the destination, if it is determined that the message is to be encrypted prior to being transmitted to the destination; and

decrypting the message and encrypting the message according to the second encryption process, if it is determined that the message is to be encrypted according to the second encryption process prior to being transmitted to the destination, wherein the message encrypted according to the second encryption process is transmitted to the destination.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the message is to be archived; and

archiving the message, if it is determined that the message is to be archived.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first protocol and the second protocol are a same protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination is an intermediate destination.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first format or the second format or both the first format and the second format are a Microsoft Word format, a Microsoft Excel™

format, a Microsoft Powerpoint™

format, a WordPerfect™

format, a Portable Document Format (“

PDF”

) format, a text-based format, an XML-based format, an ebXML format, a SWIFT format, a FIX format, an ATM format, a CHIP format, an ACH format, an EDI format, an image file format, or a video file format.

8. A computer-accessible memory storing computer code for implementing a method for routing messages, wherein the computer code comprises:

code for receiving a message via a first protocol, the message having a data payload in a first format;

code for determining a destination for the message;

code for determining a second protocol for the destination;

code for determining whether the first format of the data payload is to be converted to a second format;

code for converting the data payload from the first format to the second format, if determined that the first format of the data payload is to be converted to the second format; and

code for transmitting the message to the destination via the second protocol,

wherein the message is transmitted in the first format if the data payload was not converted from the first format to the second format, and

wherein the message is transmitted in the second format to the destination if the data payload was converted from the first format to the second format.

9. The computer-accessible memory of claim 8, wherein the computer code further comprises:

code for determining whether the message is to be encrypted; and

code for encrypting the message, if it is determined that the message is to be encrypted,

wherein the encrypted message is transmitted to the destination by the code for transmitting.

10. The computer-accessible memory of claim 8, wherein, when the code for receiving receives a message encrypted according to a first encryption process, the computer code further comprises:

code for determining whether the message is to be encrypted prior to being transmitted to the destination;

code for decrypting the message, if it is determined that the message is not to be encrypted prior to being transmitted to the destination, wherein the decrypted message is transmitted to the destination;

code for determining whether the message is to be encrypted according to a second encryption process prior to being transmitted to the destination, if it is determined that the message is to be encrypted prior to being transmitted to the destination; and

code for decrypting the message and encrypting the message according to the second encryption process, if it is determined that the message is to be encrypted according to the second encryption process prior to being transmitted to the destination, wherein the message encrypted according to the second encryption process is transmitted to the destination.

11. The computer-accessible memory of claim 8, wherein the computer code further comprises:

code for determining whether the message is to be archived; and

code for archiving the message, if it is determined that the message is to be archived.

12. The computer-accessible memory of claim 8, wherein the first format or the second format or both the first format and the second format are a Microsoft Word format, a Microsoft Excel™

format, a Microsoft Powerpoint™

format, a WordPerfect™

format, a Portable Document Format (“

PDF”

) format, a text-based format, an XML-based format, an ebXML format, a SWIFT format, a FIX format, an ATM format, a CHIP format, an ACH format, an EDI format, an image file format, or a video file format.

13. A system for routing messages, the system comprising:

a first client computer configured to execute a client messaging program that instructs the first client computer to transmit a message via a first protocol;

a second client computer; and

a server computer communicatively connected to the first client computer and the second client computer, wherein the server computer is configured to execute a server messaging program that instructs the server computer to at least;

receive the message from the first client computer via the first protocol, wherein the message includes information that specifies the second client computer as a destination for the message;

determine a second protocol for the second client computer; and

transmit the message to the second client computer via the second protocol.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising a data storage system communicatively connected to the server computer, wherein the server computer determines the second protocol based at least upon information stored in the data storage system.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the client messaging program is an MQ client program, the server messaging program is an MQ server program, and the message is an MQ message.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the first client computer is programmed at least to encrypt the message according to a free-of-charge encryption process prior to transmission, and the server messaging program further instructs the server computer to at least:

decrypt the message according to the free-of-charge encryption process; and

encrypt the message according to a proprietary encryption process,

wherein the message encrypted according to the proprietary encryption process is transmitted to the second client computer via the second protocol.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a data storage system communicatively connected to the server computer, wherein the server computer further is programmed to determine the proprietary encryption process based at least upon information stored in the data storage system.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the free-of-charge encryption process performs Secure Socket Layer (“

SSL”

) encryption.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the proprietary encryption process performs MQ Secure encryption.

20. A computer-based method for routing messages, comprising the steps of:

receiving an MQ message via a first protocol, wherein the message has a data payload in a first format;

determining a destination for the message;

determining a second protocol for the destination;

determining whether the first format of the data payload is to be converted to a second format;

converting the data payload from the first format to the second format, if it is determined that the first format of the data payload is to be converted to the second format, wherein the first format or the second format or both the first format and the second format are a Microsoft Word format, a Microsoft Excel™

format, a Microsoft Powerpoint™

format, a WordPerfect™

format, a Portable Document Format (“

PDF”

) format, a text-based format, an XML-based format, an ebXML format, a SWIFT format, a FIX format, an ATM format, a CHIP format, an ACH format, an EDI format, an image file format, or a video file format;

determining whether the message is to be encrypted;

encrypting the message, if it is determined that the message is to be encrypted;

determining whether the message is to be archived by reading the message for an indication that the message is to be persistent;

archiving the message, if it is determined that the message is to be archived; and

transmitting the message to the destination via the second protocol,

wherein the message is transmitted in the first format if the data payload was not converted from the first format to the second format, and

wherein the message is transmitted in the second format to the destination if the data payload was converted from the first format to the second format.