Controlling use of a network resource

• US 6,947,979 B1
• Filed: 08/16/2000
• Issued: 09/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Entrust Corp.
• Original Assignee: Entrust Incorporated (Entrust Corp.)
• Inventors: Pon, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Viet D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dustin
• Application Number:
  US09/640,960
• Time in Patent Office: 1,861 Days
• Field of Search: 707/101, 707/104, 707/103, 709/203, 709/223, 709/217, 713/200, 715/513, 715/511, 715/515, 715/523, 715/854, 719/311
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A method and apparatus for controlling use of a network resource. A network administrator accesses and navigates one or more network resources. A navigation capture server captures each request that is generated by the administrator'"'"'s browser and each response that is received, and stores information about the requests and responses. The navigation capture server analyzes the captured information and generates an access/navigation script that represents the navigation actions taken by the administrator in the session. The script is edited and generalized in a manner such that upon playback of the script, the user may input actual useful information and the system may capture specific response data. When the client accesses and navigates the Web applications, context-specific information, relating to the client'"'"'s then-current request, is passed from the User View Server to the navigation capture server. The navigation capture server merges the context-specific information into a corresponding request of the access/navigation script, and communicates a modified, context-specific request to the network resource. When the network resource generates a response, the message and any associated data are returned to the client through the navigation capture server and User View Server in a reciprocal manner. Thus, each user experiences a Web site with a uniform user interface or in a controlled way.

Claims

1. A method of controlling use of a network resource, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

capturing one or more request and response communications between a client and a server during a session of navigating the network resource;

storing in electronic memory meta-information that represents the one or more request and response communications;

automatically creating and storing an access and navigation script based on the meta-information, wherein the access and navigation script represents navigation actions performed during the session of navigating and includes a request to a server;

modifying the access and navigation script to result in creating and storing a generalized script that, upon playback, can accept context specific request information at a predefined location in the generalized script, for association with the request to the server;

receiving a request from a client for use of a function or resource of the network resource;

in response to the request, accessing the generalized script;

merging contemporaneous information that is specific to the client request into the generalized script at the predefined location to result in creating a context-specific request that includes a context-specific version of the request to the server;

communicating the context-specific request to the network resource.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a context-specific response from the network resource;

accessing the generalized script to obtain a response template corresponding to the context-specific response;

modifying the context-specific response according to the generalized script;

communicating the modified response to the client.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a context-specific response from the network resource;

accessing the generalized script to obtain a response template corresponding to the context-specific response;

modifying the context-specific response according to the generalized script;

communicating the modified response to a user view server for subsequent communication to the client, whereby the client receives a view of the network resource that is controlled according to the generalized script.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein access by the client to the network resource is controlled in a pre-determined way, based upon the session of navigating the network resource from which the navigation script was created.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein access by the client to the network resource is limited to one or more navigation paths navigated during the session of navigating the network resource from which the navigation script was created.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of merging contemporaneous information includes overwriting a portion of the contemporaneous information with predefined information.

4. A method of controlling use of a Web site, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

capturing one or more request and response communications between a client and a server hosting the Web site during a session of navigating the Web site;

storing in electronic memory meta-information that represents the one or more request and response communications;

automatically creating and storing an access and navigation script based on the meta-information, wherein the access and navigation script represents navigation actions performed during the session of navigating and includes a request to the server;

modifying the access and navigation script to result in creating and storing a generalized script that, upon playback, can accept context specific request information at a predefined location in the generalized script, for association with the request to the server when used in an actual user navigation of the Web site;

receiving a request from a client for use of a function or resource of the network resource;

in response to the request, accessing the generalized script;

merging contemporaneous information that is specific to the client request into the generalized script at the predefined location to result in creating a context-specific request that includes a context-specific version of the request to the server;

communicating the context-specific request to the network resource.

14. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of merging contemporaneous information includes overwriting a portion of the contemporaneous information with predefined information.

5. Apparatus for controlling use of a network resource, comprising:

a navigation capture server that can access a network resource and that is coupled to a data store;

a user view server coupled to the navigation capture server and to the data store;

instructions stored in association with the navigation capture server and user view server which, when executed by one or more processors of the navigation capture server or user view server, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of;

capturing one or more request and response communications between a client and a server during a session of navigating the network resource;

storing in electronic memory meta-information that represents the one or more request and response communications;

automatically creating and storing an access and navigation script based on the meta-information, wherein the access and navigation script represents navigation actions performed during the session of navigating and includes a request to a server;

modifying the access and navigation script to result in creating and storing a generalized script that, upon playback, can accept context specific request information at a predefined location in the generalized script, for association with the request to the server;

receiving a request from a client for use of a function or resource of the network resource;

in response to the request, accessing the generalized script;

merging contemporaneous information that is specific to the client request into the generalized script at the predefined location to result in creating a context-specific request that includes a context-specific version of the request to the server;

communicating the context-specific request to the network resource.

6. Apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for carrying out the steps of:

receiving a context-specific response from the network resource;

accessing the generalized script to obtain a response template corresponding to the context-specific response;

modifying the context-specific response according to the generalized script;

communicating the modified response to the client.

7. Apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for carrying out the steps of:

receiving a context-specific response from the network resource;

accessing the generalized script to obtain a response template corresponding to the context-specific response;

modifying the context-specific response according to the generalized script;

communicating the modified response to the user view server for subsequent communication to the client, whereby the client receives a view of the network resource that is controlled according to the generalized script.

11. An apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein access by the client to the network resource is controlled in a pre-determined way, based upon the session of navigating of the network resource from which the navigation script was created.

12. An apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein access by the client to the network resource is limited to one or more navigation paths navigated during the session of navigating the network resource from which the navigation script was created.

15. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the step of merging contemporaneous information includes overwriting a portion of the contemporaneous information with predefined information.

8. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for controlling use of a network resource, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

capturing one or more request and response communications between a client and a server during a session of navigating the network resource;

storing in electronic memory meta-information that represents the one or more request and response communications;

automatically creating and storing an access and navigation script based on the meta-information, wherein the access and navigation script represents navigation actions performed during the session of navigating and includes a request to a server;

modifying the access and navigation script to result in creating and storing a generalized script that, upon playback, can accept context specific request information at a predefined location in the generalized script, for association with the request to the server when used in an actual user navigation of the network resource;

receiving a request from a client for use of a function or resource of the network resource;

in response to the request, accessing the generalized script;

merging contemporaneous information that is specific to the client request into the generalized script at the predefined location to result in creating a context-specific request that includes a context-specific version of the request to the server;

communicating the context-specific request to the network resource.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions causes the one or more processors to perform the step of merging contemporaneous information by overwriting a portion of the contemporaneous information with predefined information.