Method and Apparatus for Integrating Distributed Shared Services System

• US 20110126220A1
• Filed: 11/23/2010
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Charles Schwab & Company Incorporated (Charles Schwab Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Charles Schwab & Company Incorporated (Charles Schwab Corporation)
• Inventors: Lerner, Jack Lawrence
• Granted Patent: US 8,464,327 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/328
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Method and apparatus for integrating distributed shared services system which integrates web based applications with each other and with other centralized application to provide a single sign-on approach for authentication and authorization services for distributed web sites requiring no access time back to the authentication/authorization server is provided.

Claims

1-37. -37. (canceled)

38. A system comprising:

a first application residing in a central server coupled to a client terminal, the client terminal including a cookie file;

a second application residing in the same domain as the central server;

a configuration file residing in the central server, wherein the configuration file contains a list of cookie fields that may be read or written to by the first application or the second application; and

an application interface library residing in the central server, wherein the application interface library is configured to provide the first application and the second application with access to one or more cookie fields of the cookie file.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the application interface library is configured to provide the first application with access to a first set of cookie fields of the cookie file and further configured to provide the second application with access to a second set of cookie fields of the cookie file.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein the configuration file further contains a list of user events for which the cookie file needs to be updated.

41. The system of claim 38, wherein the cookie file is encrypted, the system further comprising a decryption engine residing in the central server and configured to decrypt the cookie file.

42. The system of claim 38, further comprising a cookie access library residing in the central server, wherein the application interface library calls on functions from the cookie access library in order to read or write data to the cookie.

43. The system of claim 38, further comprising a message queuing middleware residing in the central server, wherein the application interface library is further configured to receive data the first application and transmit the data as a message through the message queuing middleware.

44. A system comprising:

a client terminal including a cookie file;

a central server coupled to the client terminal, the central server configured to detect a user event at the client terminal, wherein the central server is further configured to generate a message corresponding to the detected user event;

a first application residing in the central server;

a second application residing in the same domain as the central server;

a configuration file residing in the central server, wherein the configuration file contains a list of cookie fields that may be read or written to by the first application or the second application; and

an application interface library residing in the central server, wherein the application interface library is configured to provide the first application and the second application with access to one or more cookie fields of the cookie file.

45. The system of claim 44 wherein the application interface library is further configured to request data from the first application or the second application, send data to the first application or the second application, and to provide notifications when data or messages have been successfully and securely delivered.

46. The system of claim 44 wherein the application interface library is further configured to monitor interactions between the first and second applications.

47. The system of claim 44, further comprising an encryption library to encrypt the data before the data is placed in the message or cookie file.

48. The system of claim 44, further comprising an interface adapter configured to directly access the application interface library with application system components.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the interface adapter is configured to monitor changes in the application system components.

50. The system of claim 44, further comprising a message broker residing in the central server, wherein the message broker sends messages from the central server to one or more applications based on the user event.

51. A method of providing a single sign-on distributed application service integration, comprising:

using a client terminal to access a first application on a central server, wherein the central server is coupled to the client terminal and is configured to detect a user event;

receiving, using the client terminal, a cookie file corresponding to the client terminal, wherein a configuration file resides in a central server and contains a list of cookie fields of the cookie, further wherein the first application has read and write access to the cookie file as determined by the list of cookie fields; and

using the client terminal to access to a second application, wherein the second application resides in the same domain as the central server, wherein the second application has read and write access to the cookie file as determined by the list of cookie fields.

52. The method of claim 51 further comprising receiving notifications and messages from a message broker related to the user event, wherein the user event is at the first or second application.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the messages are transmitted through a queue of a message queuing middleware residing in the central server.

54. The method of claim 51, wherein the first and second applications each include one or more predetermined resources.

55. The method of claim 53, wherein the predetermined resources include one or more of a web page, a CGI script and a java servlet.