Centralized identity management for delegating resource management in a technology outsourcing environment

• US 7,996,883 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2004
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Corio, Inc (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chin, Arthur, Chaddha, Parmeet, Parikh, Milind
• Primary Examiner(s): Gergiso; Techane J
• Application Number:
  US11/010,138
• Publication Number:
  US 20060130065A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,434 Days
• Field of Search: 726/6, 726/18
• US Class Current: 726/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication

Abstract

Delegating resource management to customers in a technology outsourcing environment includes providing the customer with a secured user interface (e.g., HTML pages) for selecting one or more parameters (e.g., User Ids, application name and version, etc.) associated with a resource management task (e.g., password management). The parameters are used to automatically perform the task using a centralized identity management system and repository for storing and updating data, such as data associated with customers, User Ids, environments, applications and application versions. Such a system and method enables the delegation of resource management tasks across multiple environments hosting disparate hardware and software platforms, including multiple versions of applications.

Claims

1. A method for performing a delegated resource management task in a technology outsourcing environment having a plurality of customers associated with different, respective network configuration environments, the method comprising:

a computing device receiving, a request to perform a resource management task;

responsive to receiving the request, the computing device selecting, a first computer having a first hardware platform and a first software platform, the first computer residing on a first computer network associated with a first customer of the plurality of customers;

responsive to receiving the request, the computing device selecting a second computer having a second hardware platform and a second software platform, the second computer residing on a second computer network associated with a second customer of the plurality of customers, wherein a type of the first hardware platform is different from a type of the second hardware platform and a type of the first software platform is different from a type of the second software platform;

the first customer is different than the second customer in the technology outsourcing environment, wherein the network configuration environments for the respective plurality of customers are stored on a central repository server coupled to a centralized identity management server that is configured to perform the resource management task; and

responsive to selecting the first computer and the second computer, the computing device automatically generating one or more scripts to perform the resource management task on the first computer and the second computer, wherein the one or more scripts are configured to be executed using the first hardware platform and the first software platform on the first computer and using the second hardware platform and the second software platform on the second computer to perform the resource management task responsive to the first computer and the second computer executing the one or more scripts.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource management task is password management.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein password management includes password resetting.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

the computing device selecting one or more user identifiers associated with the first computer network and the second computer network; and

the computing device performing the password management using the one or more user identifiers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more user identifiers are stored in a central repository which is configured to store information for users of the first computer network associated with the first customer of the plurality of customers and the second computer network associated with the second customer of the plurality of customers.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the central repository is updated on a periodic basis.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the request, the computing device selecting a first application version from a plurality of application versions associated with the first software platform for the first computer and selecting a second application version from the plurality of application versions for the second software platform for the second computer, wherein the one or more scripts perform the resource management task with the first application version on the first software platform and with the second application version on the second software platform when the one or more scripts are executed on the first computer and the second computer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving and selecting steps are implemented using Web pages.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to receiving the request, the computer selecting a first operating system command for a first operating system associated with the first software platform for the first computer and selecting a second operating system command for a second operating system for the second software platform for the second computer, wherein the one or more scripts perform the resource management task using the first operating system command for the first operating system and the second operating system command for the second operating system when the one or more scripts are executed on the first computer and the second computer.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to receiving the request, the computer selecting one or more entries from a table, wherein the one or more entries in the table describe hardware platforms and software platforms for the first computer and the second computer;

wherein the step of the computer automatically generating the one or more scripts comprises;

responsive to selecting the first computer and the second computer, the computer automatically generating the one or more scripts to perform the resource management task on the first computer and the second computer based on the one or more entries selected from the table for the first computer and the second computer, wherein the one or more scripts are configured to be executed using the first hardware platform and the first software platform on the first computer and using the second hardware platform and the second software platform on the second computer to perform the resource management.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the type of the first hardware platform is different from the type of the second hardware platform and the type of the first software platform is different from the type of the second software platform such that a script generated for the type of the first hardware platform and the type of the first software platform in the first computer does not execute as desired in the second computer having the type of the second hardware platform and the type of the second software platform in the second computer.

12. A method of performing a delegated resource management task in a technology outsourcing environment having a plurality of customers associated with different, respective network configuration environments, the method comprising:

a computing device fetching and presenting, a list of the plurality of customers;

the computing device receiving, a selection of one or more the plurality customers;

the computing device fetching and presenting, a list of computer networks associated with one or more selected customers;

the computing device receiving, a selection of at least two computer networks from the list of computer networks, wherein a first computer network in the at least two computer networks has a first computer residing on the first computer network in which the first computer has a first hardware platform and a first software platform and a second computer network in the at least two computer networks has a second computer residing on the second computer network in which the second computer has a second hardware platform and a second software platform, wherein a type of the first hardware platform is different from a type of the second hardware platform and a type of the first software platform is different from a type of the second software platform;

wherein a first customer is different than a second customer in the technology outsourcing environment, wherein different, respective network configuration environments for the respective plurality of customers are stored on a central repository server coupled to a centralized identity management server configured to perform the resource management tasks;

the computing device fetching and presenting, a list of user identifiers associated with users having access to the selected at least two computer networks; and

for each selected user identifier, the computing device automatically generating one or more scripts to perform the resource management task on the first computer and the second computer, wherein the one or more scripts are configured to be executed using the first hardware platform and the first software platform on the first computer and using the second hardware platform and the second software platform on the second computer to perform the resource management task for an application for operating in the selected at least two computer networks responsive to the first computer and the second computer executing the one or more scripts.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the resource management task is password management.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the list of user identifiers are stored in a central repository which is configured to store information for the users having the access to the at least two computer networks selected from the plurality list of computer networks.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the central repository is updated on a periodic basis.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more scripts include the selection of the at least two computer networks and the list of user identifiers associated with the users having the access to the at least two computer networks, and further comprising

executing the one or more scripts to automatically perform the resource management task for the application.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the selection of the at least two computer networks comprises information selected from at least one of a name of the application, a version of the application, a name of the customer, a name of the at least two computer networks selected, a type of a server hosting the application, and a name of the server hosting the application.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the list of user identifiers comprises the information selected from the at least one of the name of the customer, the name of the at least two computer networks selected, a user identification, a first name of a user associated with the user identification, a last name of the user associated with the user identification, a user type, and a last update time.

19. A system for performing a delegated resource management task in a technology outsourcing environment having a plurality of customers associated with different, respective network configuration environments, the system comprising:

a computer-readable tangible storage device, configured to store information for users of at least two computer networks of a plurality of computer networks, wherein the at least two computer networks include different configurations and are associated with a first customer and a second customer of the plurality customers;

wherein the first customer is different than the second customer in the technology outsourcing environment, wherein different, respective network configuration environments for the respective plurality of customers are stored on a central repository server coupled to a centralized identity management server to perform the resource management tasks;

a computer system comprising a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a memory, and a computer-readable storage medium,

first instructions to receive a request to perform a resource management task, select a first computer having a first hardware platform and a first software platform, the first computer residing on a first computer network, and select a second computer having a second hardware platform and a second software platform, the second computer residing on a second computer network, wherein a type of the first hardware platform is different from a type of the second hardware platform and a type of the first software platform is different from a type of the second software platform,

second instructions to automatically generate one or more scripts to perform the resource management task on the first computer and the second computer, wherein the one or more scripts are configured to be executed using the first hardware platform and the first software platform on the first computer and using the second hardware platform and the second software platform on the second computer to perform the resource management task responsive to the first computer and the second computer executing the one or more scripts;

wherein the first instructions and the second instructions are stored on the computer-readable storage medium for execution by the CPU via the memory.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the resource management task is password management.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein password management includes password resetting.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein a centralized identity management system is configured to receive one or more user identifiers associated with the first computer network associated with the first customer of the plurality of customers and the second computer network associated with the second customer of the plurality of customers, and to perform password management using the one or more user identifiers.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the central repository is updated on a periodic basis.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein the computer system is configured to receive a selection of an application version from a plurality of application versions associated with the first computer network associated with the first customer of the plurality of customers and the second computer network associated with the second customer of the plurality of customers, and perform the resource management task on the selected application version.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein the computer system receives selections using Web pages.

26. A computer program product comprising:

a tangible computer-readable storage device;

first instructions, stored on the tangible computer-readable storage device, for receiving a request to perform a delegated resource management task in a technology outsourcing environment having a plurality of customers associated with different, respective network configuration environments;

second instructions, stored on the tangible computer-readable storage device, responsive to receiving the request, for selecting a first computer having a first hardware platform and a first software platform, the first computer residing on a first computer network associated with a first customer of the plurality of customers in response to receiving the request;

third instructions, stored on the tangible computer-readable storage device, responsive to receiving the request, for the computer selecting a second computer having a second hardware platform and a second software platform, the second computer residing on a second computer network associated with a second customer of the plurality of customers, wherein a type of the first hardware platform is different from a type of the second hardware platform and a type of the first software platform is different from a type of the second software platform the first customer is different than the second customer in the technology outsourcing environment, wherein network configuration environment for the respective plurality of customers are stored on a central repository server coupled to a centralized identity management server configured to perform the resource management task; and

fourth instructions, stored on the tangible computer-readable storage device, responsive to selecting the first computer and the second computer, for a computer automatically generating one or more scripts to perform the resource management task on the first computer and the second computer, wherein the one or more scripts are configured to be executing using the first hardware platform and the first software platform on the first computer and using the second hardware platform and the second software platform on the second computer to perform the resource management task responsive to the first computer and the second computer executing the one or more scripts.

27. A computer program product to perform a delegated resource management task in a technology outsourcing environment having a plurality of customers associated with different network configuration environment, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage device;

first instructions, stored on the computer-readable storage device for fetching and presenting a list of the plurality customers;

second instructions, stored on the computer-readable storage device for receiving a selection of one or more of the plurality of customers;

third instructions, stored on the computer readable storage device for fetching and presenting a list of computer networks associated with the selected one or more of the plurality of customers, wherein at least two of the computer networks having different configurations associated with a first customer and a second customer of the plurality of customers;

wherein the first customer is different than the second customer in the technology outsourcing environment, wherein the network configuration environment for the respective plurality of customers are stored on a central repository server coupled to a centralized identity management server configured to perform the resource management tasks;

fourth instructions, stored on the computer-readable storage device for receiving a selection of the at least two of the computer networks from the list of computer networks, wherein a first computer network in the at least two of the computer networks has a first computer residing on the first computer network in which the first computer has a first hardware platform and a first software platform and a second computer network in the at least two of the computer networks has a second computer residing on the second computer network in which the second computer has a second hardware platform and a second software platform, wherein a type of the first hardware platform is different from a type of the second hardware platform and a type of the first software platform is different from a type of the second software platform;

fifth instructions, stored on the computer-readable storage device for fetching and presenting a list of user identifiers associated with users having access to the selected at least two of the computer networks; and

sixth instructions, stored on the computer-readable storage device for automatically performing, for each selected user identifier, a computer automatically generating one or more scripts to perform a resource management task on the first computer and the second computer, wherein the one or more scripts are configured to be executed using the first hardware platform and the first software platform on the first computer and using the second hardware platform and the second software platform on the second computer to perform the resource management task for an application for operating in the selected at least two of the computer networks responsive to the first computer and the second computer executing the one or more scripts.