Method and apparatus for integrating distributed shared services system

• US 6,954,799 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2000
• Issued: 10/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Charles Schwab & Company Incorporated (Charles Schwab Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Charles Schwab & Company Incorporated (Charles Schwab Corporation)
• Inventors: Lerner, Jack Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): EL CHANTI, HUSSEIN A
• Application Number:
  US09/750,596
• Publication Number:
  US 20020010776A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,748 Days
• Field of Search: 709216-219, 709227-228, 709/238, 709/240, 709/203, 709/223, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/240
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Method and apparatus for integrating distributed shared services system which integrates web based applications with each other and with other centralized application to provide a single sign-on approach for authentication and authorization services for distributed web sites requiring no access time back to the authentication/authorization server is provided.

Claims

1. A method of providing a distributed application services integration system comprising:

providing a central domain server, wherein a configuration file resides on the central domain server, and the configuration file contains a list of cookie fields that may be read, or written to, and identifies whether a particular application has read access or write access, to a field of a cookie file;

providing a first application which transmits first application user event data to a first application interface library;

wherein the first application interface library determines whether the first application user event data is a first type of event data which requires a change to a field in a cookie file to provide real time communication to other applications of the system, and the first application interface library determines whether the user event data is a second type of user event data which does not require real time communication to other applications of the system;

using a cookie access library to update a change in a field in the cookie file where the first application user event data is determined to be a first type of user event data;

where a first application user event data is determined to be a second type of user event data transmitting the user event data as a queue message through a queue of a message queuing middleware; and

controlling the first applications access to cookie fields of the cookie file based on the list in the configuration file.

2. The method of claim 1 further including:

providing a second application which transmits a second application user event data to a second application interface library;

wherein the second application interface library determines whether the second application user event data is a first type of event data which requires a change to a field in the cookie file to provide real time communication to other applications of the system, and the second application interface library determines whether the second application user event data is a second type of user event data which does not require real time communication to other applications of the system;

using a cookie access library to update a change a field in the cookie file where the second application user event data is determined to be the first type of user event data;

where a second application user event data is determined to be the second type of user event data transmitting the second application user event data as a message through the queue of the message queuing middleware; and

controlling the second applications access to cookie fields of the cookie file based on the list in the configuration file.

3. The method of claim 1 further including:

encrypting first application user event data where the first application user event data is determined to be the second type of event data, prior to transmitting the first application user event data as a message through the queue of the message queuing middleware.

4. The method of claim 1 further including:

pushing information from the configuration file through the message delivering middleware to the first application interface library.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the information from the configuration file controls the operation of the first application interface library when a user event takes place.

6. The method of claim 2 further including:

pushing information from the configuration file through the message delivering middleware to the first application interface library and the second application interface library.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information pushed from the configuration file controls the operation of the first application interface library when a user event takes place, and controls the operation of the second application interface library.