Dynamic File Access To Files Of Unmapped Remote Computers

• US 20100154038A1
• Filed: 12/17/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Natarajan, Murali
• Granted Patent: US 9,577,998 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

Dynamically providing access to files of presently unmapped remote computers, including, responsive to receiving a file access request from a user, displaying a file access Graphical User Interface (‘GUI’) dialog box; receiving, from the user through the file access GUI dialog box, a Uniform Resource Locator (‘URL’) representing a file location on a remote computer, wherein the URL specifies a particular access protocol among a number of available access protocols, a network location of the remote computer, a port number, and a file system path; and accessing, in dependence upon the URL, a file on the remote computer at the file system path through data communications established between a local server module and a remote server running on the remote computer using the particular access protocol, the network location of the remote computer, and the port number.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of dynamically providing access to files of presently unmapped remote computers, the method comprising:

responsive to receiving a file access request from a user, displaying a file access Graphical User Interface (‘

GUI’

) dialog box;

receiving, from the user through the file access GUI dialog box, a Uniform Resource Locator (‘

URL’

) representing a file location on a remote computer,

wherein the URL specifies a particular access protocol among a plurality of available access protocols, a network location of the remote computer, a port number, and a file system path; and

accessing, in dependence upon the URL, a file on the remote computer at the file system path through data communications established between a local server module and a remote server running on the remote computer using the particular access protocol, the network location of the remote computer, and the port number.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

accessing the file through data communications carried out according to the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (‘

TCP/IP’

) among the local server module and the remote server running on the remote computer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

requesting, from the user, authorization credentials;

receiving the authorization credentials from the user; and

providing, by the local server module, the authorization credentials to the remote server running on the remote computer.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

providing, by the local server module, an authentication certificate to the remote server running on the remote computer.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the file access request further comprises a request for access to save a file on the remote computer; and

accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises sending the file by the local server module in one or more data communications packets to the remote server running on the remote computer for storage at the file system path specified in the URL.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the file access request further comprises a request to open a file stored on the remote computer; and

accessing the file on the remote computer further comprises requesting, by the local server module, the file from the remote server running on the remote computer and receiving the file in response to the request in one or more data communications packets.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is carried out by a user level application and the local server module comprises a software component of the user level application.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the user level application further comprises one of a word processing application, a presentation development application, or a spreadsheet application.

9. An apparatus for dynamically providing access to files of presently unmapped remote computers, the apparatus comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions capable of:

responsive to receiving a file access request from a user, displaying a file access Graphical User Interface (‘

GUI’

) dialog box;

receiving, from the user through the file access GUI dialog box, a Uniform Resource Locator (‘

URL’

) representing a file location on a remote computer,

wherein the URL specifies a particular access protocol among a plurality of available access protocols, a network location of the remote computer, a port number, and a file system path; and

accessing, in dependence upon the URL, a file on the remote computer at the file system path through data communications established between a local server module and a remote server running on the remote computer using the particular access protocol, the network location of the remote computer, and the port number.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

accessing the file through data communications carried out according to the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (‘

TCP/IP’

) among the local server module and the remote server running on the remote computer.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

requesting, from the user, authorization credentials;

receiving the authorization credentials from the user; and

providing, by the local server module, the authorization credentials to the remote server running on the remote computer.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

providing, by the local server module, an authentication certificate to the remote server running on the remote computer.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein:

the file access request further comprises a request for access to save a file on the remote computer; and

accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises sending the file by the local server module in one or more data communications packets to the remote server running on the remote computer for storage at the file system path specified in the URL.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein:

the file access request further comprises a request to open a file stored on the remote computer; and

accessing the file on the remote computer further comprises requesting, by the local server module, the file from the remote server running on the remote computer and receiving the file in response to the request in one or more data communications packets.

15. A computer program product for dynamically providing access to files of presently unmapped remote computers, the computer program product disposed in a computer readable recordable medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions capable of:

responsive to receiving a file access request from a user, displaying a file access Graphical User Interface (‘

GUI’

) dialog box;

receiving, from the user through the file access GUI dialog box, a Uniform Resource Locator (‘

URL’

) representing a file location on a remote computer,

wherein the URL specifies a particular access protocol among a plurality of available access protocols, a network location of the remote computer, a port number, and a file system path; and

accessing, in dependence upon the URL, a file on the remote computer at the file system path through data communications established between a local server module and a remote server running on the remote computer using the particular access protocol, the network location of the remote computer, and the port number.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

accessing the file through data communications carried out according to the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (‘

TCP/IP’

) among the local server module and the remote server running on the remote computer.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

requesting, from the user, authorization credentials;

receiving the authorization credentials from the user; and

providing, by the local server module, the authorization credentials to the remote server running on the remote computer.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises:

providing, by the local server module, an authentication certificate to the remote server running on the remote computer.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein:

the file access request further comprises a request for access to save a file on the remote computer; and

accessing a file on the remote computer further comprises sending the file by the local server module in one or more data communications packets to the remote server running on the remote computer for storage at the file system path specified in the URL.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein:

the file access request further comprises a request to open a file stored on the remote computer; and

accessing the file on the remote computer further comprises requesting, by the local server module, the file from the remote server running on the remote computer and receiving the file in response to the request in one or more data communications packets.