Apparatus, system, and method for establishing a reusable and reconfigurable model for fast and persistent connections in database drivers

• US 7,770,214 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2007
• Issued: 08/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ostler, Paul A., Gao, Huaxin, Lee, Bilung
• Primary Examiner(s): Korzuch; William R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vaughan; Michael R
• Application Number:
  US11/736,516
• Publication Number:
  US 20080263653A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,204 Days
• Field of Search: 726/2, 726/4, 726/10, 726/12, 713/151, 713/156, 713/155, 705/76, 709/225, 709/229, 709/239
• US Class Current: 726/8
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method for establishing a reusable and reconfigurable trusted connection within a trusted context. The invention enhances interoperability with any existing authentication methods including the Kerberos, the DCE, and a combination of a user name and a password. The present invention includes common interfaces in a database driver for a middleware server to obtain a trusted connection. The invention enhances trusted context interoperability by allowing different types of trusted connections such as a normal connection, a pooled connection, or even a distribution transaction connection. The database driver generates unique identifiable information once a trusted connection is authenticated that can be utilized to reuse and reconfigure the trusted connection without re-authentication. The present invention allows various types of trusted connections to be established through any authentication mechanisms and allows those trusted connections to be reused and reconfigured, even by a different client, in a fast and persistent way.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code programmed for establishing a reusable connection within a trusted context, the computer program product comprising operations for:

defining a trusted context between a middleware server and a data server, the trusted context defined by a trusted context definition;

establishing a trusted connection between the middleware server and the data server based on the trusted context definition by accessing a set of connection retrieval interfaces that enable interoperability within the trusted context among a plurality of distinct connection types, and selecting a connection retrieval interface for use in establishing the trusted connection in response to a connection retrieval request, the connection retrieval request identifying a connection type, the set of connection retrieval interfaces comprising a pooled connection interface for establishing a pooled connection within the trusted context and a distribution transaction connection interface for establishing a distribution transaction connection within the trusted context;

authenticating the middleware server to the data server;

saving unique identifiable information regarding the trusted connection in a persistent storage such that the connection may be reused without re-authentication;

reusing the trusted connection without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information; and

reconfiguring the trusted connection without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information, a set of reconfiguration interfaces enabling a client application to selectively request changes to one or more reconfigurable properties of the trusted connection, the requested changes satisfying the trusted context definition.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the one or more reconfigurable properties comprise one or more of a timeout locking threshold, a username encryption type, a trace file path, and a read/write property.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, the set of connection retrieval interfaces further comprising a normal connection interface that enables compatibility between a normal connection and the trusted context, wherein the set of reconfiguration interfaces enables reconfiguration of the trusted connection from one of a normal connection, a pooled connection, and a distribution transaction connection to another of a normal connection, a pooled connection and a distribution transaction connection without re-authentication.

4. A method for deploying a computer implemented process for establishing a reusable connection within a trusted context, the method comprising:

instantiating first computer instructions onto a computer readable medium, the first computer instructions stored in a tangible memory and executable by a processor in communication with the memory, the first instructions configured to define a trusted context between a data server comprising at least one processor and a memory and a middleware server comprising at least one processor and a memory, the trusted context defined by a trusted context definition;

instantiating second computer instructions onto the computer readable medium, the second instructions comprising operations for establishing a trusted connection between the middleware server and the data server based on the trusted context definition by accessing a set of connection retrieval interfaces that enable interoperability within the trusted context and among plurality of distinct connection types, and for selecting a connection retrieval interface for use in establishing the trusted connection in response to a connection retrieval request, the connection retrieval request identifying a connection type, the set of connection retrieval interfaces comprising a pooled connection interface for establishing a pooled connection within the trusted context and a distribution transaction connection interface for establishing a distribution transaction connection within the trusted context;

instantiating third computer instructions onto the computer readable medium, the third instructions comprising an authentication module that authenticates the middleware server to the data server by accessing a set of authentication protocol interfaces that enable interoperability between the trusted context and a plurality of distinct authentication protocols, the authentication module comprising a Kerberos protocol interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a Kerberos authentication protocol, a distributed computing environment (DCE) protocol interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a DCE authentication protocol, and a user name and password interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a user name and password authentication protocol;

instantiating fourth computer instructions onto the computer readable medium, the fourth instructions configured to generate and store unique identifiable information regarding the trusted connection in a persistent storage;

instantiating fifth computer instructions onto the computer readable medium, the fifth instructions configured to enable reuse of the trusted connection without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information; and

instantiating sixth computer instructions onto the computer readable medium, the sixth instructions reconfiguring the trusted connection without re-authentication in response to a request to change one or more reconfigurable properties of the trusted connection, the requested changes satisfying the trusted context definition.

5. An apparatus to establish a reusable and reconfigurable connection within a trusted context, the apparatus comprising:

a trusted context definition interface configured to communicate with a data server to define a trusted context between a middleware server and the data server, the data server comprising at least one processor and a memory, the trusted context defined by a trusted context definition;

a set of connection retrieval interfaces that establish a trusted connection between the middleware server and the data server based on the trusted context definition and that enable interoperability within the trusted context and among plurality of distinct connection types, wherein a connection retrieval interface is selected for use in establishing the trusted connection in response to a connection retrieval request, the connection retrieval request identifying a connection type, the set of connection retrieval interfaces comprising a pooled connection interface for establishing a pooled connection within the trusted context and a distribution transaction connection interface for establishing a distribution transaction connection within the trusted context;

an authentication module that authenticates the middleware server to the data server by accessing a set of authentication protocol interfaces that enable interoperability between the trusted context and a plurality of distinct authentication protocols, the authentication module comprising a Kerberos protocol interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a Kerberos authentication protocol, a distributed computing environment (DCE) protocol interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a DCE authentication protocol, and a user name and password interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a user name and password authentication protocol, wherein the authentication module saves unique identifiable information regarding the trusted connection in a persistent storage such that the connection may be reused without re-authentication;

a set of connection reuse interfaces configured to enable reuse of the trusted connection with or without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information; and

a set of reconfiguration interfaces that reconfigure the trusted connection without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information, the set of reconfiguration interfaces responsive to change requests from a client application to selectively change one or more reconfigurable properties of the trusted connection, the requested changes satisfying the trusted context definition.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the one or more reconfigurable properties comprise one or more of a timeout locking threshold, a username encryption type, a trace file path, and a read/write property.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the set of connection retrieval interfaces further comprises a normal connection interface for establishing a normal connection with the trusted context.

8. A system for establishing a reusable and reconfigurable connection within a trusted context, the system comprising:

a middleware server enabled to establish a trusted connection within a trusted context;

a data server comprising a processor and a memory in electronic communication with the middleware server and enabled to establish the trusted connection within the trusted context with the middleware server;

at least one client in electronic communication with the middleware server and enabled to request a trusted connection within a trusted context;

at least one database in electronic communication with the data server; and

a middleware trusted context driver comprising;

a trusted context definition interface configured to communicate with the data server to define the trusted context between the middleware server and the data server, the trusted context defined by a trusted context definition;

a set of connection retrieval interfaces that establish the trusted connection between the middleware server and the data server based on the trusted context definition and that enable interoperability within the trusted context and among plurality of distinct connection types, wherein a connection retrieval interface is selected for use in establishing the trusted connection in response to a connection retrieval request, the connection retrieval request identifying a connection type, the set of connection retrieval interfaces comprising a pooled connection interface for establishing a pooled connection within the trusted context and a distribution transaction connection interface for establishing a distribution transaction connection within the trusted context;

an authentication module that authenticates the middleware server to the data server by accessing a set of authentication protocol interfaces that enable interoperability between the trusted context and a plurality of distinct authentication protocols, the authentication module comprising a Kerberos protocol interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a Kerberos authentication protocol, a distributed computing environment (DCE) protocol interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a DCE authentication protocol, and a user name and password interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a user name and password authentication protocol, the authentication module configured to generate and store unique identifiable information regarding the trusted connection in a persistent storage;

a set of connection reuse interfaces configured to enable reuse of the trusted connection without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information; and

a set of reconfiguration interfaces that reconfigure the trusted connection without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information, the set of reconfiguration interfaces responsive to change requests from the client application to selectively change one or more reconfigurable properties of the trusted connection, the requested changes satisfying the trusted context definition.

9. A method for establishing a reusable connection within a trusted context, the method comprising:

defining a trusted context between a data server comprising at least one processor and a memory and a middleware server, the trusted context defined by a trusted context definition;

establishing a trusted connection between the middleware server and the data server based on the trusted context definition by accessing a set of connection retrieval interfaces that enable interoperability between the trusted context and a plurality of distinct connection types, and selecting a connection retrieval interface for use in establishing the trusted connection in response to a connection retrieval request, the connection retrieval request identifying a connection type, the set of connection retrieval interfaces comprising a pooled connection interface for establishing a pooled connection within the trusted context and a distribution transaction connection interface for establishing a distribution transaction connection within the trusted context;

authenticating the trusted connection between the middleware server and the data server by accessing an authentication module comprising a set of authentication protocol interfaces that enable interoperability between the trusted context and a plurality of distinct authentication protocols, the set of authentication protocol interfaces comprising a Kerberos protocol interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a Kerberos authentication protocol, a distributed computing environment (DCE) protocol interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a DCE authentication protocol, and a user name and password interface that enables interoperability between the trusted context and a user name and password authentication protocol;

generating and storing unique identifiable information regarding the trusted connection in a persistent storage;

reusing the trusted connection without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information; and

reconfiguring the trusted connection without re-authentication based on the unique identifiable information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein reconfiguring the trusted connection comprises changing the trusted connection from one of a normal connection, a pooled connection, and a distribution transaction connection to another of a normal connection, a pooled connection and a distribution transaction connection without re-authentication.