UNIQUE ACCOUNT IDENTIFICATION

• US 20100174912A1
• Filed: 01/08/2009
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: West, Jeff, Diest, Renata van, Palaniappan, Lingeshwaran, Kiilerich, Dennis, Larsen, Mark Sievert, Dragomir, Adrian
• Granted Patent: US 8,612,768 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/183
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A synchronization system includes a first account assigned a first unique identifier. Access to the first account is contingent on validation of a shared access credential. The synchronization system also includes a second account assigned a second unique identifier. Access to the second account is contingent on validation of the shared access credential. The synchronization system further includes a library of account operations. One or more account operations are configured to utilize the first unique identifier when addressing the first account, and one or more account operations are configured to utilize the second unique identifier when addressing the second account.

Claims

1. A synchronization system, comprising:

a first account having a first mailbox assigned a first globally unique identifier, access to the first account being contingent on validation of a shared username and a shared password;

a library of account operations, one or more such account operations configured to identify the first mailbox with the first globally unique identifier;

a second account having a second mailbox assigned a second globally unique identifier, access to the second account also being contingent on validation of the shared username and the shared password, the second account derived from an out-of-service account without native access to the library of account operations, the second account endowed with the library of account operations, one or more such account operations configured to identify the second mailbox with the second globally unique identifier.

2. The synchronization system of claim 1, where access to the second account is further contingent on validation of an out-of-service access credential.

3. The synchronization system of claim 1, where the library of account operations includes an auto-discover operation configured to return all available accounts, and for each available account, a globally unique identifier for accessing that account.

4. The synchronization system of claim 1, where the first account includes a first message store identified by the first globally unique identifier and the second account includes a second message store identified by the second globally unique identifier.

5. The synchronization system of claim 1, where account items for the first account and account items for the second account are combined in a shared table.

6. The synchronization system of claim 5, where the shared table includes, for each account item, a field for a globally unique identifier of an account to which that account item belongs.

7. The synchronization system of claim 6, where account items include one or more of contact items, calendar items, or task items.

8. A synchronization system, comprising:

a first account assigned a first unique identifier, access to the first account being contingent on validation of a shared access credential;

a second account assigned a second unique identifier, access to the second account also being contingent on validation of the shared access credential;

a library of account operations, one or more account operations configured to utilize the first unique identifier when addressing the first account, and one or more account operations configured to utilize the second unique identifier when addressing the second account.

9. The synchronization system of claim 8, where each unique identifier is a globally unique identifier.

10. The synchronization system of claim 8, where the shared access credential includes a shared username and a shared password.

11. The synchronization system of claim 8, where the library of account operations includes an auto-discover operation configured to return all available accounts, and for each available account, a unique identifier for accessing that account.

12. The synchronization system of claim 8, where the first account includes a first message store identified by the first unique identifier and the second account includes a second message store identified by the second unique identifier.

13. The synchronization system of claim 8, where account items for the first account and account items for the second account are combined in a shared table.

14. The synchronization system of claim 13, where the shared table includes, for each account item, a field for a unique identifier of an account to which that account item belongs.

15. The synchronization system of claim 13, where account items include one or more of contact items, calendar items, or task items.

16. The synchronization system of claim 8, where the first account is a native in-service account and the second account is a normative in-service account derived from an out-of-service account.

17. The synchronization system of claim 16, where access to the second account is further contingent on validation of an out-of-service access credential.

18. A data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by a logic subsystem to implement a method of synchronizing a native in-service account and a normative in-service account derived from an out-of-service account to a same device, the method comprising:

validating a shared access credential to open access to both the native in-service account and the normative in-service account;

retrieving account items from the native in-service account with an in-service account operation configured to identify the native in-service account with a first unique identifier;

retrieving account items from the normative in-service account with an in-service account operation configured to identify the normative in-service account with a second unique identifier.

19. The data-holding subsystem of claim 18, where instructions executable by the logic subsystem to implement the method are held on computer-readable removable media.

20. The data-holding subsystem of claim 18, where the first unique identifier and the second unique identifier are different globally unique identifiers.