Authenticated access to internet based research and data services

• US 6,185,567 B1
• Filed: 05/29/1998
• Issued: 02/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Trustees Of The University Of Pennsylvania (University of Pennsylvania)
• Original Assignee: Trustees Of The University Of Pennsylvania (University of Pennsylvania)
• Inventors: McCartney, William Gerard, Crispi, Steven J., Ratnaraj, Paul J., To, Son, Akhavein, Jalal D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US09/087,184
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2-6, 707/10, 707/8, 707/100, 707/103, 707/202, 705/26, 705/27, 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database

Abstract

Access to a database is provided via the Internet using a World Wide Web server including a search engine, a CGI gateway and user selectable data queries for extracting data, generating reports, and the like. Access by the user is authenticated by querying the user'"'"'s central machine for authentication. The authentication process operates by sending a page request from the web browser through three checkpoints before the requested page can be served to the web browser. The first checkpoint determines if the requested page is protected. If not, the requested page is served to the web browser. However, if the requested page is protected, the authentication process on the web server checks the host name of the system where the page request is coming from. If the domain of the requesting host is the same domain specified in the web authentication configuration, then the requested page is served to the web browser. However, if the page request is determined to come from outside of the domain of the web server, then the authentication process checks a “cookie” from the web browser to determine if the requesting user has been authenticated as an authorized user earlier in the same session. If the cookie has been “set” during the login procedure, then the requested page is served to the web browser. Otherwise, the user is prompted with a login page. After the user ends the web browser session, the cookie is cleared. Data Query software at the web server permits queries initiated via a web browser to be completed off-line and the results e-mailed to the initiator of the request.

Claims

1. A system for managing access to a database by authorized users via a computer communications network, each user sending a page request for a page from said database using a browser program operating on a client computer connected to said computer communications network, comprising:

a server which provides requested pages from said database to a requesting user'"'"'s browser program via the computer communications network in response to said page request from the requesting user'"'"'s browser program if the requesting user is authorized to receive the requested page from said database, said server including a search engine which searches said database and data query software which is accessible to the user via an interface of said server that screens and formats subsets of data in said database whereby the user can search through multiple data sets with a single data query specifying criteria for selection based on a field common to at least two data sets of said multiple data sets, said data query software emulating batch processing of data queries from the user by spawning a child process for each data request in a data query from the user and monitoring the status of said child process, said data query software further sending the user a message that contains an address where the processed output can be retrieved by the user when the child process is finished; and

an authentication program operating at said server, said authentication program determining if the requested page is protected and, if so, checking a cookie from the requesting user'"'"'s browser program to determine if said cookie has been validated to indicate that the user has been authenticated as an authorized user of said database prior to receipt of said page request from the requesting user'"'"'s browser program, whereby a requested protected page is provided to the requesting user'"'"'s browser program only if said cookie has been validated.

2. A system for managing access to a database by authorized users via a computer communications network, each user sending a page request for a page from said database using a browser program operating on a client computer connected to said computer communications network, comprising:

a server which provides requested pages from said database to a requesting user'"'"'s browser program via the computer communications network in response to said page request from the requesting user'"'"'s web browser program if the requesting user is authorized to receive the requested page from said database, said server including a search engine which searches said database; and

data query software accessible to the user via an interface of said server, said data query software screening and formatting subsets of data in said database whereby the user can search through multiple data sets with a single query specifying criteria for selection based on a field common to at least two data sets of said multiple data sets, said data query software emulating batch processing of data queries from the user by spawning a child process for each data request in a data query from the user and monitoring the status of said child process, said data query software further sending the user a message that contains an address where the processed output can be retrieved by the user when the child process is finished.

3. A method of authenticating access to a database containing protected pages by a browser program which provides page requests via a computer communications network to a server associated with said database, comprising the steps of:

said browser program sending a page request to said server via the computer communications network;

determining if the requested page is protected, and if the requested page is not protected, then serving the requested page to the browser program;

if the requested page is protected, then determining if a domain of the computer system operating said browser program is within a domain of said server and, if so, serving the requested page to the browser program;

if the domain of the computer system operating said browser program is outside of the domain of said server, then checking whether a valid cookie has been received from the browser program indicating that a user of said browser program has been authenticated as an authorized user of said database prior to receipt of said page request from said browser program;

serving the requested protected page to said browser program only if said valid cookie has been received by said server;

searching through multiple data sets in said database with a single data query from said browser program specifying criteria for selection based on a field common to at least two data sets of said multiple data sets;

emulating batch processing of data queries from the user by spawning a child process for each data request in a data query from the user and monitoring the status of said child process; and

sending the user a message that contains an address where the processed output can be retrieved by the user when the child process is finished.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein if it is determined that a valid cookie has not been received in said cookie checking step, said method comprises the additional steps of serving a login page to said browser program, the user of the browser program providing login information to said server, and, if the login information is valid, said server serving the requested page to said browser program and said server sending said valid cookie to said browser program.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising the additional step of clearing said valid cookie at the end of a session with said browser program.