Dynamic mapping of user id into TCP/IP address without user interaction as user signing on or singing off among workstations

• US 6,013,107 A
• Filed: 10/06/1997
• Issued: 01/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Blackshear, Susan Louise, Leak, Dennis David, Mace, Jody Lynn
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US08/944,466
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: 713/201, 713/202, 709/229, 709/230
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping

Abstract

Method, apparatus and system is disclosed for providing TCP/IP addresses from a dynamic user identification server to workstations running an application program so that messages can be sent from one operator to another operator regardless of which workstation the other operator may be using, without the need to send the message itself through a server station. The dynamic user identification server also keeps track of the number of workstations in use at any one time and the number of copies of a licensed program being used for royalty control.

Claims

1. Method for locating operators at computer workstations served by an internetting protocol communication network comprising the acts of:

sending an add message from a workstation to a dynamic user identification server when an operator signs on to a workstation;

storing an operator identification and internetting protocol workstation address at the dynamic user identification server for each operator that is signed on to a workstation;

sending a delete message from a workstation to the dynamic user identification server when an operator signs off from a workstation;

deleting the operator identification and internetting protocol workstation address from the dynamic user identification server for each operator that has signed off from a workstation;

sending a query from a workstation to the dynamic user identification server when a message is to be sent to an operator at another workstation;

receiving the operator identification and internetting protocol workstation address for the operator from the dynamic user identification server;

sending a message from the workstation to the another workstation using the internetting protocol workstation address received from the dynamic user identification server.

2. Method of claim 1 further comprising at the dynamic user identification server, the act of:

storing an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address at the dynamic user identification server for each operator that is signed on to a workstation further comprises storing information concerning the programs being run at each workstation that has an operator signed on.

3. Method of claim 2 further comprising the acts of:

counting the number of copies of each program being run at the workstations that have an operator signed on;

reporting the number of copies being run.

4. Method for locating operators at computer workstations served by an internetting protocol communication network comprising the acts of:

sending an add message from a workstation to a dynamic user identification server when an operator signs on to a workstation;

storing an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address at the dynamic user identification server for each operator that is signed on to a workstation;

sending a delete message from a workstation to the dynamic user identification server when an operator signs off from a workstation;

deleting the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address from the dynamic user identification server for each operator that has signed off from a workstation;

sending a query from a workstation to the dynamic user identification server when a message is to be sent to an operator at another workstation;

receiving the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for the operator from the dynamic user identification server;

sending a message from the workstation to the another workstation using the internetting protocol workstation address received from the dynamic user identification server.

5. Method of claim 4 wherein the message from the workstation to the another workstation is a remote override request, further comprising the acts of:

receiving from the another workstation an override approval response including a supervisor operator identification, an encrypted supervisor password and approval message.

6. Method of claim 4 further comprising at the dynamic user identification server, the act of:

storing an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address at the dynamic user identification server for each operator that is signed on to a workstation further comprises storing information concerning the programs being run at each workstation that has an operator signed on.

7. Method of claim 6 further comprising the acts of:

counting the number of copies of each program being run at the workstations that have an operator signed on;

processing a royalty report regarding the number of copies being run.

8. A client workstation comprising:

a computer workstation connected to a packet switched network;

means for sending an add message from the workstation to a dynamic user identification server when an operator signs on to the workstation, the add message including an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for storage at the dynamic user identification server;

means for sending a delete message from the workstation to the dynamic user identification server when an operator signs off from the workstation the delete message including the operator identification and encrypted password for use by the dynamic user identification server to verify operator identity prior to deleting the operators operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address from storage at the dynamic user identification server;

means for sending a query from the workstation to the dynamic user identification server when a message is to be sent from the workstation to an operator at another workstation;

means for receiving the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for the operator at the another workstation from the dynamic user identification server;

means for sending a message from the workstation to the another workstation using the internetting protocol workstation address received from the dynamic user identification server.

9. The computer workstation of claim 8 further comprising:

means for receiving from the another workstation an override approval response including a supervisor operator identification, an encrypted supervisor password and approval message, in response to the message to the another workstation.

10. A dynamic user identification server workstation comprising:

a computer workstation connected to client workstations by a packet switched network;

means for receiving an add message from client workstations when an operator signs on to one of the client workstations, the add message including an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address;

means for storing the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address in a list at the dynamic user identification server;

means for receiving a delete message from one of the workstations when an operator signs off from the one of the client workstations, the delete message including the operator identification and encrypted password of the operator who has signed off;

means for verifying the identity of the operator who has signed off;

means for deleting the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for the operator who has signed off from the list stored at the dynamic user identification server after verifying identity of the operator who has signed off;

means for receiving a query from a third workstation when a message is to be sent from the third workstation to a second operator at a second workstation whose internetting protocol workstation address is unknown at the third workstation;

means for sending to the third workstation, the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for the second operator at the second workstation.

11. The dynamic user identification server workstation of claim 10 further comprising:

means for storing information concerning the programs being run at each workstation that has an operator signed on.

12. The dynamic user identification server workstation of claim 11 further comprising:

means for counting the number of copies of each program being run at the workstations that have an operator signed on;

means for reporting the number of copies being run.

13. A computer program storage medium readable by a computer and encoding a program of instructions for executing a computer process to provide for communication using internetting protocol between users of computers, each computer having a continuously running computer application program that allows users to sign on and off the computer application program without stopping the computer application program comprising the steps of:

sending an add message from a first computer to a dynamic user identification server computer when an operator signs on to the first computer, the add message including an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for storage at the dynamic user identification server;

sending a delete message from the first computer to the dynamic user identification server when an operator signs off from the first computer, the delete message including the operator identification and encrypted password for use by the dynamic user identification server to verify operator identity prior to deleting the operators operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address from storage at the dynamic user identification server;

sending a query including a second operator identification from the first computer to the dynamic user identification server when a message is to be sent from the first computer to an operator at a second computer;

receiving an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for the operator at the second computer from the dynamic user identification server;

sending a message from the first computer to the second computer using the internetting protocol address received from the dynamic user identification server.

14. The computer program storage medium of claim 13 wherein said computer process further comprises the steps of:

receiving from the second computer an override approval response including a supervisor operator ID, an encrypted supervisor password and approval message, in response to the message to the second computer.

15. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for the dynamic mapping of user identification into an IP address, said computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code devices configured for sending an add message from a first computer to a dynamic user identification server computer when an operator signs on to the first computer, the add message including an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for storage at the dynamic user identification server;

computer readable program code devices configured for sending a delete message from the first computer to the dynamic user identification server when an operator signs off from the first computer, the delete message including the operator identification and encrypted password for use by the dynamic user identification server to verify operator identity prior to deleting the operators operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address from storage at the dynamic user identification server;

computer readable program code devices configured for sending a query including a second operator identification from the first computer to the dynamic user identification server when a message is to be sent from the first computer to an operator at a second computer;

computer readable program code devices configured for receiving an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for the operator at the second computer from the dynamic user identification server;

computer readable program code devices configured for sending a message from the first computer to the second computer using the internetting protocol address received from the dynamic user identification server.

16. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for the dynamic mapping of user identification into an IP address, said computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code devices configured for receiving an add message from a client computer when an operator signs on, the add message including an operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol address;

computer readable program code devices configured for storing the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol address in a list;

computer readable program code devices configured for receiving a delete message from a client computer when an operator signs off from the client computer, the delete message including the operator identification and encrypted password of the operator who has signed off;

computer readable program code devices configured for verifying the identity of the operator who has signed off;

computer readable program code devices configured for deleting from the list, the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol workstation address for the operator who has signed off after verifying identity of the operator who has signed off;

computer readable program code devices configured for receiving a query from a third computer when a message is to be sent from the third computer to a second operator at a second computer whose internetting protocol address is unknown at the third computer;

computer readable program code devices configured for sending to the third computer, the operator identification, encrypted password and internetting protocol address for the second operator at the second computer.