Connector gateway

• US 7,324,473 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2003
• Issued: 01/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Corneille, Kevin R., Sherwin, John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, NGUYEN THANH
• Application Number:
  US10/680,661
• Publication Number:
  US 20050073982A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,575 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/328, 370/395.52, 370/338, 455/445, 455/517, 455/410, 455/411, 455418-420, 709/238, 709/245
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4523 using lightweight directory access protocol [LDAP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/082 using revocation of authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/084 using delegated authorisation, e.g. open authorisation [OAuth] protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/086 using security domains
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 using filters or firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A connector gateway system that provides mobile devices with access to business services is disclosed. The connector gateway system comprises a mobile device that includes an application that is capable of generating a service request. The service request may be generated from the application and may include a DNS name that translates to an address on the connector gateway server. The connector gateway server performs a lookup operation to determine the business server associated with the service request. The connector gateway server creates a data filter that drives an emulation between the mobile device and the business server to pump data between the mobile device and the business server.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium encoded with a computer program for provisioning mobile services in a plurality of mobile devices, comprising:

a code segment that creates a plurality of listenin sockets on a connector gateway server, each of the listening sockets associated with one of a plurality of connectors types;

a code segment that receives over a wireless network from a mobile device a connection request from an application located on the mobile device, the connection request comprising information that translates to a connector type that is associated with a listening socket upon which the connection request was received by the connector gateway server;

a code segment that determines if the mobile device is authorized to access the connector type;

a code segment that determines a business server associated with the connector type; and

a code segment that emulates a connection between the mobile device and the business server using the connector gateway server.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising a code segment to query a session table using a source IP address contained in the connection request to obtain a mobile identification number and determine the business server.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 2, where the code segment to query the session table further comprises a code segment to query a sever table using the mobile identification number and the connector type to get a service identification.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 3, further comprising a code segment to query the server table using the service identification to get a business server IP address.

5. A method of providing mobile devices with access to business servers, comprising the steps of:

reading a connector table to create an external listening socket for at least one service type on a connector gateway server;

authenticating that a user has the appropriate access permissions for the requested service type;

receiving a connection request from at least one mobile device on a listening socket on the connector gateway server;

creating a copy of the external listening socket for the connection request on the connector gateway server;

determining a business server associated with the connection request;

initiating a session filter for the business server;

creating a data filter to drive an emulation between the at least one mobile device and the business server; and

emulating a connection between the at least one mobile device and the business server on the connector gateway server by pumping data between the at least one mobile device and the business server.

6. The method of claim 5, where the business server associated with the connection request is determined by querying a session table using a source IP to get a mobile identification number, where the mobile identification number and the service type are used to query the session table to obtain a service ID, and where the service table is queried using the service ID to obtain a remote server IP address.

7. A connector gateway system that provides mobile devices with access to business services, comprising:

a connector gateway server connected with a wireless access network and configured to include a plurality of listening sockets;

at least one business server connected with the connector gateway server;

the connector gateway server configured to receive a service request generated with an application included on a mobile device, the service request including a DNS name that translates to an address corresponding to one of the listening sockets on the connector gateway server;

the connector gateway server further configured to perform a lookup operation, based on the one of the listening sockets, to determine the business server associated with the service request;

the connector gateway server further configured to authenticate that a user that initiated the service request is a valid user of a service requested with the service request; and

the connector gateway server further configured to create a data filter based on the service request, the data filter configured to drive an emulation of a connection between the mobile device and the business server to pump data between the mobile device and the business server.

8. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where the connector gateway server is further configured to track usage data of the mobile device down to the specific business server being accessed and save the usage data in a data file.

9. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where the connector gateway server is configured, upon startup, to access a connector table that defines a plurality of connectors, and create the listening sockets based on the connector table.

10. The connector gateway system of claim 9, where each of the connectors is mapped to a unique IP address and a pod that corresponds to a service type.

11. The connector gateway system of claim 10, where the connector gateway server is configured to create the listening sockets for each of a plurality of service types, one of the service types associated with the application.

12. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where the connector gateway server creates a session filter that is configured to allow firewall events to be received and processed by the connector gateway server in response to the service request.

13. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where the connector gateway server is further configured to locate a session filter that is configured to allow firewall events to be received and processed by the connector gateway server in response to the service request.

14. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where the data filter is configured to use an external socket on the connector gateway server and an internal socket on the business server to implement a socket interface between the connector gateway server and the business server.

15. The connector gateway system of claim 14, where the external socket is spawned by an application filter object of the connector gateway server in response to acceptance of an external connection by the connector gateway server.

16. The connector gateway system of claim 14, where the internal socket on the business server is accessed by the connector gateway server through a gateway controlled connection object.

17. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where an external connection is created on the connector gateway server in response to the service request that will prompt a remote bind to be emulated to the business server associated with the service request.

18. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where the connector gateway server is configured to determine with a provisioning table if the mobile device is authorized to access the business server.

19. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where the connector gateway server is configured to perform user access/authorization through a lightweight director access protocol lookup.

20. The connector gateway system of claim 7, where the connector gateway server comprises a logging module configured to log all user traffic in a text file.

21. A method of providing mobile devices with access to business servers, comprising the steps of:

creating with a connector gateway server a plurality of listening sockets each associated with one of a plurality of connector types;

over a wireless network receiving a connection request from an application included in a mobile device, the connection request including information that translates to one of the connector types associated with a listening socket on which the connection request is received;

determining if the mobile device is authorized to have access to the connector type;

determining a business server associated with the connector type; and

emulating a connection between the mobile device and the business server using the connector gateway server in response to the mobile device being authorized.

22. The method of claim 21, where the connector type maps to a unique IP and port combination that corresponds to a respective business server.

23. The method of claim 21, where determining the business server associated with the connector type further includes performing a lookup operation with the connector gateway server.

24. The method of claim 23, where performing the lookup operation comprises the connector gateway server querying a table based on the connector type to obtain a service identifier that corresponds to the business server and the connector type.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of creating a session filter that allows firewall events to be received and processed by the connector gateway server.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of locating an existing session filter that allows firewall events to be received and processed by the connector gateway server.

27. The method of claim 21, where a data filter uses an external socket on the connector gateway server and an internal socket on the business server to emulate the connection between the mobile device and the business server.