System, method and computer program product for publicly providing web content of a tenant using a multi-tenant on-demand database service

• US 8,661,056 B1
• Filed: 11/03/2009
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Cinarkaya, Bulent, Tamm, Steven, Sureshchandra, Jayesh, Warshavsky, Alex, Bulumulla, Irandi Upeka, Fry, Benjamin, Scott, Kenneth Douglas, Brooks, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Wilson
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hershley, Mark E
• Application Number:
  US12/611,697
• Time in Patent Office: 1,575 Days
• Field of Search: 707/769, 707/776, 707/778, 707/783, 707/784, 707/785, 707/786
• US Class Current: 707/778
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/282 Hierarchical databases, e.g. IMS, LDAP data stores or Lotus Notes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1012 to domains
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1015 to users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for publicly providing web content of a tenant using a multi-tenant on-demand database service. These mechanisms and methods for publicly providing web content of a tenant using a multi-tenant on-demand database service can allow the web content to be published by a tenant using the multi-tenant on-demand database service for use by non-tenants of the multi-tenant on-demand database service.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving information from a tenant of a multi-tenant on-demand database service, the information including;

web content,

a domain name by which the web content is capable of being accessed, wherein the domain name is received by the tenant registering the domain name via the multi-tenant on-demand database service, and

security settings for the web content, wherein the security settings include at least one rule indicating portions of the web content that are allowed to be publicly accessed by non-tenants of the multi-tenant on-demand database service;

mapping the domain name to an account that the tenant has established with the multi-tenant on-demand database service;

storing the security settings in association with the account of the tenant;

publicly providing the web content to a non-tenant of the multi-tenant on-demand database service using the multi-tenant on-demand database service, based on the information, by;

receiving a request from the non-tenant for the web content, wherein the request includes the domain name;

identifying the account of the tenant using the domain name by identifying the mapping of the domain name to the account of the tenant;

identifying the security settings for the web content using the identification of the account of the tenant;

determining the portions of the web content that the security settings allow to be provided to the non-tenant; and

providing the determined portions of the web content to a web-browser of a device of the non-tenant.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the security settings includes rules for at least one of database tables that are allowed to be publicly accessed by the non-tenant, a level of access to the database tables by the non-tenant, fields of the database tables that are allowed to be publicly accessed by the non-tenant, and records of the database tables that are allowed to be publicly accessed by the non-tenant.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information includes a billing configuration based on which the provision of the web content is billed.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the billing configuration indicates that the tenant is to be automatically charged for views of the web content that exceed a predetermined threshold of views of the web content.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is received by the multi-tenant on-demand database service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is received utilizing a graphical user interface of the multi-tenant on-demand database service.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is received from the tenant as metadata utilizing a development environment of the multi-tenant on-demand database service.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the web content includes a web site.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the web content includes a web service.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the web content is publicly provided to the non-tenant in response to receipt of the request by the multi-tenant on-demand database service for the web content from the non-tenant.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein upon receipt of the request by the multi-tenant on-demand database service, it is determined whether the web content is stored in cache of a content delivery network integrated with the multi-tenant on-demand database service.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the web content is provided to the non-tenant of the multi-tenant on-demand database service from the cache in response to a determination that the web content is stored in the cache of the content delivery network.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the tenant is identified based on a mapping, in response to a determination that the web content is not stored in the cache of the content delivery network.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the security settings further indicate a level of access to the web content that is allowed, such that only the level of access to the web content indicated as allowed by the security settings is provided to the non-tenant.

15. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising:

computer code for receiving information from a tenant of a multi-tenant on-demand database service, the information including;

web content,

a domain name by which the web content is capable of being accessed, wherein the domain name is received by the tenant registering the domain name via the multi-tenant on-demand database service, and

security settings for the web content, wherein the security settings include at least one rule indicating portions of the web content that are allowed to be publicly accessed by non-tenants of the multi-tenant on-demand database service;

computer code for mapping the domain name to an account that the tenant has established with the multi-tenant on-demand database service;

computer code for storing the security settings in association with the account of the tenant;

computer code for publicly providing the web content to a non-tenant of the multi-tenant on-demand database service using the multi-tenant on-demand database service, based on the information, by;

receiving a request from the non-tenant for the web content, wherein the request includes the domain name;

identifying the account of the tenant using the domain name by identifying the mapping of the domain name to the account of the tenant;

identifying the security settings for the web content using the identification of the account of the tenant;

determining the portions of the web content that the security settings allow to be provided to the non-tenant; and

providing the determined portions of the web content to a web-browser of a device of the non-tenant.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor for;

receiving information from a tenant of a multi-tenant on-demand database service, the information including;

web content,

a domain name by which the web content is capable of being accessed, wherein the domain name is received by the tenant registering the domain name via the multi-tenant on-demand database service, and

security settings for the web content, wherein the security settings include at least one rule indicating portions of the web content that are allowed to be publicly accessed by non-tenants of the multi-tenant on-demand database service;

mapping the domain name to an account that the tenant has established with the multi-tenant on-demand database service;

storing the security settings in association with the account of the tenant;

publicly providing the web content to a non-tenant of the multi-tenant on-demand database service using the multi-tenant on-demand database service, based on the information, by;

receiving a request from the non-tenant for the web content, wherein the request includes the domain name;

identifying the account of the tenant using the domain name by identifying the mapping of the domain name to the account of the tenant;

identifying the security settings for the web content using the identification of the account of the tenant;

determining the portions of the web content that the security settings allow to be provided to the non-tenant; and

providing the determined portions of the web content to a web-browser of a device of the non-tenant.