System and method for managing states and user context over stateless protocols

• US 20060036683A1
• Filed: 10/24/2005
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bracewell, Shawn, Beattie, Ward, Simpson, Russell, Vetrivel, Puhazholi
• Granted Patent: US 7,353,266 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/463 Program control block organisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method for facilitating remote access of an application available via a stateless protocol is provided. Such applications are typically accessed via the World Wide Web portion of the Internet (the “Web”) using a browser application and an HTTP protocol. The system can include one or more components for caching data associated with the remote access, the data comprising state and/or user specific information. The state and/or user specific information can be stored in a user context object (UCO). One or more user context objects can be managed by a user context manager that facilitates locating user context objects and reclaiming memory associated with user context objects that are no longer necessary to support remote access of the application accessed via a stateless protocol.

Claims

1. A computer implemented system to facilitate a remote user accessing an application across a stateless protocol, comprising:

a component that caches data associated with the remote user access, the data comprising state and/or user specific information.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a memory management component that manages memory storing the state and/or user specific information.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the user specific information and the state information are stored in a user context object.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the user context object is assigned a globally unique identifier.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the memory managing component manages one or more user context objects.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the memory managing component can locate a user context object via an addressing algorithm, the algorithm employing the globally unique identifier, a locale identifier, a mailbox identifier and a security identifier.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the memory managing component reclaims resources allocated to a user context object upon a determination that the user context object has not been accessed within a predetermined threshold period of time, the resources including at least one of memory, data communications devices, processor time and network bandwidth.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the pre-determined threshold period of time can be dynamically changed based, at least in part, on feedback concerning the usage of one or more user context objects.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a monitoring component that feedbacks information concerning usage of one or more user context objects.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein more resources are allocated to a user context object when the feedback information indicates that the user context object has been utilized more than a first pre-determined threshold level.

11. The system of claim 10, the resources comprising at least one of memory, processor time, communication devices and network bandwidth.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein resources are reclaimed from a user context objects when the feedback information indicates that the user context object has been utilized less than a second pre-determined threshold level.

13. A computer implemented method that facilitates remote access to an application, the access occurring across a stateless protocol, comprising:

allocating memory to cache state and/or user specific information associated with the remote access;

caching the state information associated with the remote access of the application in the allocated memory; and

caching the user specific information associated with the remote access of the application in the allocated memory.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising selectively reclaiming the memory allocated to cache the state and/or user specific information associated with the remote access, the reclaiming occurring upon the allocated memory not being accessed within a pre-determined period of time.

15. The method of claim 14, the pre-determined period of time being dynamically adjustable based, at least in part, on feedback concerning the usage of the allocated memory associated with the remote access.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising assigning a globally unique identifier to the memory allocated to cache the state and/or user specific information.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising locating the state and/or user specific information via an algorithm, the algorithm employing the globally unique identifier, a locale identifier, a mailbox identifier and a security identifier.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving feedback information concerning usage of one or more user context objects; and

allocating more resources to a user context object, based at least in part, on the feedback information.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

de-allocating resources from a user context object, based at least in part, on the feedback information.

20. A system for managing information in an application accessed via a stateless protocol, comprising:

means for allocating memory to store state and/or user specific information associated with a remote user access of an application, the application being accessed via a stateless protocol;

means for caching, in the allocated memory, state information associated with the remote access of the application;

means for caching, in the allocated memory, user specific information associated with a remote accessor of the application;

means for locating the state and/or user specific information cached in the allocated memory; and

means for reclaiming the allocated memory when the memory has not been accessed within a pre-determined period of time.