METHOD, DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR SHARING APPLICATION SESSION INFORMATION ACROSS MULTIPLE-CHANNELS

• US 20090055542A1
• Filed: 08/01/2008
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Su, Hui, Zhao, Shi Wan
• Granted Patent: US 7,792,976 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The present invention provides a device for sharing application session information across multiple channels, for managing the communication between terminal devices and a web server, said device comprises an application session manager (ASM) connected between the terminal device and the web server for receiving and forwarding said user'"'"'s request sent from said terminal device and the response returned from the web sever; a storing device connected to the application session manager, for storing application session management information and application session information in the response returned from the web server; a retrieving device, connected to the application session manager; an intercepting device, connected to the application session manager, for intercepting a new application session information in the response from the web server; said application session manager generates an application session management information (ASMC) of said user, then sends said response to said terminal device which has sent said user'"'"'s request

Claims

1. A device for sharing application session information across multiple channels or devices for managing the communication between terminal devices and a web server, said device comprising:

an application session manager (ASM) connected between a terminal device and the web server, for receiving and forwarding said user'"'"'s request sent from said terminal device and the response returned from the web sever;

a storing device connected to the application session manager, for storing application session management information and application session information in the response returned from the web server;

a retrieving device connected to the application session manager;

an intercepting device connected to the application session manager;

wherein, said application session manager receives said user'"'"'s request sent from said terminal device to the web server;

according to said user'"'"'s request, controls said retrieving device to retrieve a previous application session information of said user from the storing device, said application session manager further finding an application cookie corresponding to said previous application session information if said previous application session information is included in said user'"'"'s request and sending said user'"'"'s request with said application cookie to the web server, and if there is no previous application session information in said user'"'"'s request, determining if there exists an unfinished record associated with the user in the storing device, said unfinished record being associated with a device ID that is different from a device ID of the terminal device which has sent out said user'"'"'s request, and if there is an unfinished record, constructing a new request using application session management information associated with the user and replacing said user'"'"'s request with the new request and sending said new request to the web server in response to said user'"'"'s request;

after said application session manager receives the response returned from the web server to said terminal device, the intercepting device intercepts a new application session information in said response, said application session manager generates an application session management information of said user, wherein the application session management information comprises at least a first fragment identifying a session ID and a second fragment identifying a device ID for identifying said terminal device which has sent said user'"'"'s request wherein multiple application session management information can exist having the same session ID for different device IDs;

then, sends said response with the application session management information to said terminal device which has sent said user'"'"'s request.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said application session manager retrieves a previous application session information of said user according to application session management information (ASMC) of said user'"'"'s request.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the application session management information further comprises a session ID for identifying the session time of said user.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said user'"'"'s request does not comprise the application session management information, and said previous application session information is null.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that an authenticating and authorizing server authenticates said user ID of said terminal device and authorizes said user, before said application session manager receives said user'"'"'s request sent by said terminal device.

6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the authenticating and authorizing server authenticates the user by requesting said user to input the user name and the password, and authorizes the corresponding user.

7. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said application session manager identifies the request type from said terminal device and performs corresponding session management associated with different request types, after receiving said user'"'"'s request sent from said terminal device.

8. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said application session information comprises user submitted history data, user state, visited URL, application state or cookie.

9. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the code converter, which is connected to said application session manager, converts the information from the web server into an information format which can be accepted by said terminal device, if the information format used by said terminal device is different from the information format used by the web server.

10. A system for sharing application session information across multiple channels or devices, comprising one or more terminal devices and at least one web server, wherein said system comprises a device for sharing application session information across multiple channels or devices, which is connected between said one or more terminal devices and said web server, and comprises:

an application session manager (ASM) connected between a terminal device and the web server, for receiving and forwarding said user'"'"'s request sent from said terminal device and the response returned from the web sever;

a storing device connected to the application session manager, for storing application session management information and application session information in the response returned from the web server;

a retrieving device connected to the application session manager,

an intercepting device connected to the application session manager;

wherein, said application session manager receives said user'"'"'s request sent from said terminal device to the web server;

according to said user'"'"'s request, controls said retrieving device to retrieve a previous application session information of said user from the storing device, said application session manager further finding an application cookie corresponding to said previous application session information if said previous application session information is included in said user'"'"'s request and sending said user'"'"'s request with said application cookie to the web server, and if there is no previous application session information in said user'"'"'s request, determining if there exists an unfinished record associated with the user in the storing device, said unfinished record being associated with a device ID that is different from a device ID of the terminal device which has sent out said user'"'"'s request, and if there is an unfinished record, constructing a new request using application session management information associated with the user and replacing said user'"'"'s request with the new request and sending said new request to the web server in response to said user'"'"'s request;

after said application session manager receives the response returned from the web server to said terminal device, the intercepting device intercepts a new application session information in said response, said application session manager generates an application session management information of said user, wherein the application session management information comprises at least a first fragment identifying a session ID and a second fragment identifying a device ID for identifying said terminal device which has sent said user'"'"'s request wherein multiple application session management information can exist having the same session ID for different device IDs;

then, sends said response with the application session management information to said terminal device which has sent said user'"'"'s request.

11. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for sharing application session information across multiple channels or devices, for managing the communication between terminal devices and a web server, said method steps comprising;

receiving a user'"'"'s request from a terminal device;

identifying a user and creating an entry associated with the user into an application session management database;

retrieving a previous application session information of the user in said user'"'"'s request, if any, and finding an application cookie corresponding to said previous application session information of the user in said user'"'"'s request and replacing said previous application session information with said application cookie and sending said user'"'"'s request with said application cookie to the web server in response to said user'"'"'s request, and if there is no previous application session information of the user in said user'"'"'s request, determining if there exists an unfinished record associated with the user in the application session management database, said unfinished record being associated with a first device ID that is different from a second device ID of the terminal device which has sent out said user'"'"'s request, and if there is the unfinished record, constructing a new request using application session management information associated with the user in the application session management database and replacing said user'"'"'s request with the new request and sending said new request to the web server in response to said user'"'"'s request;

receiving a response returned from the web server to said terminal device, intercepting a new application session information in said response;

generating a new application session management information of said user, which comprises at least a first fragment identifying a session ID and a second fragment identifying the second device ID of the terminal device which has sent out said user'"'"'s request, wherein multiple application session management information can exist having the same session ID for different device IDs;

saving both of said intercepted application session information and the generated application session management information;

replacing said intercepted application session information with the generated application session management information into said response; and

sending said response to said terminal device which has sent said user'"'"'s request.