Directory integration in mobile systems

• US 7,940,910 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2006
• Issued: 05/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Orative Corp. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Drewry, John S., Schramm, Steven D., Chatterjee, Saurav, Rana, Hemendra
• Primary Examiner(s): Al Aubaidi; Rasha S
• Application Number:
  US11/509,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20070041571A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,721 Days
• Field of Search: 379/355.02, 379/218.01, 379/211.02
• US Class Current: 379/218.01
• 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 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity

Abstract

Embodiments for generating a sorted integrated directory are described. The sorted integrated directory integrates contacts from disparate directories into a common directory. The formation of the integrated directory includes receiving contacts from multiple directories. The contacts represent or are formed under multiple data structures, with one data structure corresponding to one of the directories. The received contacts are converted into contact objects. The contact objects, each of which represents a contact, all include or are formed under a common data structure. An integrated directory is generated or formed from the contact objects. The integrated directory thus includes a set of contacts of the disparate source directories.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a plurality of contacts from a plurality of disparate source directories hosted by one or more servers, wherein the plurality of contacts represent a plurality of data structures;

converting the plurality of contacts into a plurality of contact objects that have a common data structure and each represent one of the contacts;

generating, at a collaboration server that is different from the one or more servers hosting the plurality of disparate source directories, an integrated directory to include the plurality of contacts by coalescing the plurality of contact objects, wherein the integrated directory includes contacts representing a set of contacts of the plurality of directories;

selectively transferring the integrated directory to a client device; and

,

synchronizing the integrated directory of the collaboration server with the integrated directory of the client device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the plurality of contacts from a plurality of directories includes receiving from a plurality of directories hosted on one or more first servers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving from the plurality of directories hosted on one or more first servers comprises receiving using a protocol specific to each directory.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving from the plurality of directories hosted on one or more first servers comprises authenticating with each directory using authentication information mapped to the directory.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first servers include one or more enterprise servers and directory servers.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving includes receiving at one or more second servers.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information designating the plurality of contacts in the plurality of directories.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising transferring the integrated directory to a client device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising adding a new contact to the integrated directory by receiving information of the new contact at the client device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a new contact to the integrated directory by designating additional contacts of the plurality of directories.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically synchronizing the integrated directory of the collaboration server with the plurality of directories.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising including one or more of presence and availability information in the integrated directory, wherein the presence and availability information corresponds to one or more respective contacts of the integrated directory.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating an active integrated directory, the active integrated directory including active contacts that correspond to other users with whom an owner of the integrated directory has communicated during a pre-specified period of time.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the active contacts include one or more contacts of the integrated directory.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the active contacts include one or more contacts of the plurality of directories that are missing from the integrated directory.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the active contacts include one or more contacts missing the plurality of directories and from the integrated directory.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the active contacts include one or more background contacts, the background contacts including contacts that correspond to other users with whom an owner of the integrated directory has communicated outside the pre-specified period of time.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein generating includes generating the active integrated directory at a collaboration server that is different from one or more servers hosting the plurality of directories.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising transferring the active integrated directory to a client device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising periodically synchronizing the active integrated directory of the collaboration server with the active integrated directory of the client device.

21. The method of claim 13, further comprising designating one or more active contacts of the active integrated directory as a static contact, wherein the static contact remains in the active integrated directory when a last communication event including the static contact is outside the pre-specified period of time.

22. The method of claim 13, further comprising one or more of adding a contact to and removing a contact from the active integrated directory according to a communication pattern of the contact.

23. The method of claim 13, further comprising generating a background directory, the background directory including background contacts that correspond to other users with whom an owner of the integrated directory has communicated outside the pre-specified period of time.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein generating includes generating the background directory at a collaboration server that is different from one or more servers hosting the plurality of directories.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising transferring the background directory to a client device.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising periodically synchronizing the background directory of the collaboration server with the background directory of the client device.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising moving one or more of an active contact from the active integrated directory to the background directory and one or more of a background contact from the background directory to the active integrated directory.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein the synchronizing comprises reflecting changes of the integrated directory of the collaboration server into the integrated directory of the client device.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein the synchronizing comprises reflecting changes of the integrated directory of the client device into the integrated directory of the collaboration server.

30. A system comprising:

a server coupled to at least one communication network; and

a plurality of adapters coupled to the server and to a plurality of directories that include a plurality of contacts having a plurality of data structures, wherein each of the plurality of adapters includes a protocol for receiving a set of contacts that includes a data structure of the plurality of data structures, wherein at least one of the adapters or the server is configured to convert the set of contacts from each adapter into a set of contact objects having a common data structure and generate, at a collaboration server, an integrated directory by coalescing the set of contact objects from each adapter, wherein the integrated directory includes contacts representing a subset of contacts of the plurality of directories, wherein the collaboration server is configured to selectively transfer the integrated directory to a client device, and wherein the collaboration server is configured to synchronize the integrated directory with the integrated directory of the client device.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein receiving the plurality of contacts from a plurality of directories includes receiving from a plurality of directories hosted on one or more first servers using a protocol specific to each directory.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein receiving from the plurality of directories hosted on one or more first servers comprises authenticating with each directory using authentication information mapped to the directory.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the first servers include one or more enterprise servers and directory servers.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein one or more of the server and the plurality of adapters are configured to receive information designating the plurality of contacts in the plurality of directories.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein one or more of the server and the plurality of adapters are configured to add a new contact to the integrated directory by designating additional contacts of the plurality of directories.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein generating includes generating the integrated directory at a collaboration server that is different from one or more servers hosting the plurality of directories.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein one or more of the server and the client device are configured to periodically synchronize the integrated directory of the collaboration server with the integrated directory of the client device.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the server is configured to periodically synchronize the integrated directory of the collaboration server with the plurality of directories.

39. The system of claim 30, wherein one or more of the server and the plurality of adapters are configured to include one or more of presence and availability information in the integrated directory, wherein the presence and availability information corresponds to one or more respective contacts of the integrated directory.

40. A system comprising:

a server coupled to at least one communication network; and

a plurality of adapters coupled to the server and to a plurality of directories that include a plurality of contacts having a plurality of data structures, wherein each of the plurality of adapters includes a protocol for receiving a set of contacts from one of the plurality of directories, wherein the set of contacts includes a data structure of the plurality of data structures, wherein at least one of the adapters or the server is configured to convert the set of contacts from each adapter into a set of contact objects that have a common data structure and generate an integrated directory that includes the set of contacts from each of the plurality of adapters by coalescing the set of contact objects, wherein the integrated directory includes contacts representing a subset of contacts of the plurality of directories, wherein the at least one of the adapters or the server is configured to selectively transfer the integrated directory to a client device, and wherein the at least one of the adapters or the server is configured to synchronize the integrated directory with the integrated directory of the client device.

41. A tangible computer readable media including executable instructions which, when executed in a processing system, generates an integrated directory by:

receiving a plurality of contacts from a plurality of directories hosted by one or more servers, wherein the plurality of contacts represent a plurality of data structures;

converting the plurality of contacts into a plurality of contact objects that have a common data structure and each represent one of the contacts;

generating, at a collaboration server, an integrated directory to include the plurality of contacts by coalescing the plurality of contact objects, wherein the integrated directory includes contacts representing a set of contacts of the plurality of directories;

selectively transferring the integrated directory to an associated client device; and

, synchronizing the integrated directory of the collaboration server with the integrated directory of the client device.