AUTHENTICATION APPARATUS, AUTHENTICATION METHOD AND COMPUTER READABLE INFORMATION RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20120311667A1
• Filed: 05/21/2012
• Published: 12/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: OHTA, Junn
• Granted Patent: US 8,621,565 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/2
• 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 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/608 Secure printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user

Abstract

An authentication apparatus authenticates an information processing apparatus in cooperation with an external authentication apparatus. The authentication apparatus responds to a request from the information processing apparatus to carry out authentication and obtain item values, and carries out authentication for a required account; responds to the authentication being carried out, and obtains from the external authentication apparatus an item value corresponding to an item name that is set as an item to be synchronized each time; updates an item value in a local database by the obtained item value; obtains a set of item values including the updated item value; and returns to the information processing apparatus a result of the authentication having been carried out and the obtained set of item values.

Claims

1. An authentication apparatus that authenticates an information processing apparatus in cooperation with an external authentication apparatus, the authentication apparatus comprising:

an authentication part that responds to a request from the information processing apparatus to carry out authentication and obtain item values, and carries out authentication for a required account;

an each-time item value obtaining part that responds to the authentication being carried out and obtains from the external authentication apparatus an item value corresponding to an item name that is set as an item to be synchronized each time;

an each-time item value updating part that updates an item value included in a local database by the item value obtained by the each-time item value obtaining part;

an item value set obtaining part that obtains a set of item values including the item value updated by the each-time item value updating part; and

a returning part that returns to the information processing apparatus an authentication result obtained from the authentication part and the set of item values obtained by the item value set obtaining part.

2. The authentication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a scheduled item value obtaining part that obtains from the external authentication apparatus an item value corresponding to an item name that is set to be synchronized according to a schedule; and

a scheduled item value updating part that updates an item value included in the local database by the item value obtained by the scheduled item value obtaining part, wherein

the set of item values obtained by the item value set obtaining part further include the item value updated by the scheduled item value updating part.

3. The authentication apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a management tool that provides a management interface for setting the item to be synchronized each time and the item to be synchronized according to the schedule.

4. The authentication apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein

one or more priorities are set to the items to be synchronized according to the schedule, and synchronization processes of the items to be synchronized according to the schedule are carried out periodically at one or more updating intervals that are set according to the one or more priorities, respectively.

5. The authentication apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein

the each-time item value obtaining part uses date and time at which the item value corresponding to the item name that is set to be updated each time has been updated and obtains the item value to be synchronized corresponding to a difference between a master database that resides on the external authentication apparatus and the local database.

6. The authentication apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein

the external authentication apparatus acts as a master authentication server and the authentication apparatus acts as an intermediate-layer authentication server.

7. An authentication method of an authentication apparatus authenticating an information processing apparatus in cooperation with an external authentication apparatus, the authentication method comprising:

responding to a request from the information processing apparatus to carry out authentication and obtain item values and carrying out authentication for a required account;

responding to the authentication being carried out and obtaining from the external authentication apparatus an item value corresponding to an item name that is set as an item to be synchronized each time;

updating an item value included in a local database by the obtained item value corresponding to the item name that is set as an item to be synchronized each time;

obtaining a set of item values including the updated item value; and

returning to the information processing apparatus a result of the authentication and the obtained set of item values.

8. A non-transitory information recording medium storing a program which, when executed by one or more processors, realizes an authentication apparatus that authenticates an information processing apparatus in cooperation with an external authentication apparatus, the program causing the one or more processors to act as:

an authentication part that responds to a request from the information processing apparatus to carry out authentication and obtain item values and carries out authentication for a required account;

an each-time item value obtaining part that responds to the authentication being carried out and obtains from the external authentication apparatus an item value corresponding to an item name that is set as an item to be synchronized each time;

an each-time item value updating part that updates an item value included in a local database by the item value obtained by the each-time item value obtaining part;

an item value set obtaining part that obtains a set of item values including the item value updated by the each-time item value updating part; and

a returning part that returns to the information processing apparatus an authentication result obtained from the authentication part and the set of item values obtained by the item value set obtaining part.

9. The non-transitory information recording medium as claimed in claim 8, the program causing the one or more processors to further act as:

a scheduled item value obtaining part that obtains from the external authentication apparatus an item value corresponding to an item name that is set to be synchronized according to a schedule; and

a scheduled item value updating part that updates an item value included in the local database by the item value obtained by the scheduled item value obtaining part, wherein

the set of item values obtained by the item value set obtaining part further include the item value updated by the scheduled item value updating part.