UNIFIED WEB SERVICE DISCOVERY

• US 20110231473A1
• Filed: 03/18/2010
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Liang, Rui, Srinivasan, Srivatsa, Narayanan, Ranjith
• Granted Patent: US 9,247,008 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54

Abstract

A uniform approach for web service discovery is provided through common auto-discovery logic for cloud-based or enterprise-based deployments for a specific web service. Appropriate credentials may be applied employing a uniform method using an appropriate authentication scheme for on-premise, fully hosted, or partially hosted auto-discovered web services. A common interface may be implemented even if the protocols for discovery differ from service to service or between cloud-based deployment and enterprise-based deployment for the same service. Web service locations auto-discovered through different protocols may be cached for subsequent use.

Claims

1. A method to be executed at least in part in a computing device for providing unified web service discovery, the method comprising:

receiving information associated with a user;

determining an identity associated with the user based on the received information;

determining at least one web service associated with the identity; and

discovering at least one from a set of;

a location of provider, an authentication type supported by the provider, and an operation supported by the provider for each of the determined web services.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing discovered information associated with providers of the web services as metadata to a consuming application associated with the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the discovered information is provided as metadata bindings.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein distinct discovery mechanisms are employed for different web services based on a type of each web service provider.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a plurality of sub-identities based on the identity associated with the user.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the sub-identities are determined employing at least one from a set of:

a look-up operation, an inference from user credentials, and by employing a derivation algorithm.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the web services are discovered based on one of:

a predefined period, a random interval, and user demand.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein discovery results are cached to optimize system resource usage.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one from a set of:

a schedule of web services discovery, whether the discovery results are cached, and discovery mechanisms are determined based on each sub-identity.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the web service provider includes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the web service provider, and one of:

a Domain Name System Server (DNS SRV) lookup, a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) option 43, and in-band provisioning from a system registrar is employed to discover the location.

11. A unified communication system employing unified web service discovery, the system comprising:

a server configured to;

manage communications between internal and external resources of the unified communication system and a plurality of client applications;

a client device executing a client application, the client application configured to;

provide a user credential to a discovery engine; and

the discovery engine configured to;

determine at least one identity associated with the user based on the user credential;

discover web service parameters for web services associated with the at least one identity employing one or more discovery mechanisms in a unified manner;

generating metadata bindings based on the discovered web service parameters; and

providing the metadata bindings to one of;

the client application, a consuming application executed on the server, and a consuming application executed on the client device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the web service parameters include:

locations of web service providers, authentication types supported by the providers, and operations supported by the providers, and the discovery engine is further configured to enable an application receiving the metadata to select an authentication scheme based on availability of a compatible identity associated with the user.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the web services are provided by at least one from a set of:

the server, another server within the unified communication system, and a system external to the unified communication system.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the user credential includes one of:

a login, a username/password combination, a certificate, a personal identification number, and an email address.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein a discovery schedule is determined based on each identity, and the discovered parameters are stored in one of a volatile memory and a persistent storage including one of:

a system registry, a file, and a credential manager Application Programming Interface (API).

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the unified communication system is one of:

enterprise-based, cloud-based, and a combination of enterprise-based and cloud-based.

17. A computer-readable storage medium with instructions stored thereon for providing unified web service discovery, the instructions comprising:

receiving a user credential in a variable deployment system;

determining a plurality of identities associated with the user based on the credential;

determining a plurality of web services associated with the identities;

discovering at least one from a set of;

a location of web service providers, authentication types supported by the providers, and operations supported by the providers employing one or more discovery mechanisms in a unified manner;

providing discovered information associated with providers of the web services as metadata bindings to at least one consuming application associated with the user.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising:

repeating the discovery following one of;

a random period, a predefined period, and a user demand based on one of;

an identity and a web service to be discovered; and

caching results of the discovery based on one of;

the identity and the web service to be discovered.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the discovery is performed employing at least one of a standardized mechanism and a proprietary mechanism.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the web services includes at least one from a set of:

a search service, a document sharing service, and a data sharing service.