Methods and apparatus for providing access to persistent application sessions

• US 8,078,689 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Pedersen, Bradley
• Primary Examiner(s): Jean, Frantz B
• Application Number:
  US12/563,275
• Publication Number:
  US 20100011113A1
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/227, 709/228, 713/161, 713/168, 713/170
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1038 Load balancing arrangements to avoid a single path through a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for providing remote access to two or more application sessions in which authentication information associated with a user is received, a plurality of application sessions already associated with the user are identified in response to the information, and a client computer operated by the user is connected to the plurality of application sessions.

Claims

1. A method for providing remote access to a plurality of application sessions, the method comprising:

receiving, by a server, authentication information associated with a user from a first client computer;

authenticating, by the server, the user using the received authentication information from the first client computer;

initiating, by the server, an application session for the user;

receiving, by the server, the authentication information associated with the user from a second client computer;

authenticating, by the server, the user using the received authentication information from the second client computer;

identifying, by the server, the application session initiated by the user by accessing a data store comprising information related to a plurality of application sessions;

determining, via a rule from a rule source, that the user is one of required, permitted and forbidden to connect to the initiated application session;

disconnecting, by the server, the application session initiated by the user from the first client computer; and

connecting, by the server, the application session initiated by the user to the second client computer responsive to the determination via the rule from the rule source.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting, by the server, a status of at least one application session of the plurality of application session to one of active and disconnected.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising further specifying, by the server, the status of the at least one application session of the plurality of application session designated as disconnected as one of executing-disconnected and stalled-disconnected.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing, by the server, the information related to a plurality of application sessions in a table of the data store.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing, by the server, a user-specified rule in the rule source.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising stalling, by the server, the initiated application session after the user disconnects from the server.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising continuing, by the server, execution of an application in the initiated application session for a pre-determined time period.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising stalling, by the server, the application in the initiated application session responsive to exceeding the pre-determined time period and failure to reconnect the server and the user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising

requesting, by the server to the second client computer, instructions for connecting the initiated application session to the second client computer;

and

receiving, by the server, instructions declining to connect the second client computer to the initiated application session.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising requesting, by the server to the second client computer, instructions for one of keeping the initiated application session active and terminating the initiated application session.

11. A server for providing remote access to a plurality of application sessions, the method comprising:

a network module for receiving authentication information associated with a user from a first client computer; and

receiving the authentication information associated with the user from a second client computer;

an authentication module for authenticating the user using the authentication information received from the user from the first client computer; and

authenticating the user using the authentication information received from the user from the second client computer;

a data store for storing information related to a plurality of application sessions;

a rule source for providing one or more rules governing a reaction to receiving authentication information from the user, the one or more rules determining whether to one of require, permit and forbid the user'"'"'s connection to an identified application session of the plurality of application sessions; and

a server process for initiating an application session for the user;

disconnecting the application session initiated by the user from the first client computer; and

connecting the application session initiated by the user to the second client computer responsive to the determination via the rule from the rule source.

12. The server of claim 11, wherein the data store sets a status of at least one application session of the plurality of application session to one of active and disconnected.

13. The server of claim 12, wherein the data store further specifies the status of the at least one application session of the plurality of application session designated as disconnected as one of executing-disconnected and stalled-disconnected.

14. The server of claim 11, wherein the data store stores the information related to a plurality of application sessions in a table of the data store.

15. The server of claim 11, wherein the rule source stores a user-specified rule.

16. The server of claim 11, wherein the server process stalls the initiated application session after the user disconnects from the server.

17. The server of claim 11, wherein the server process continues execution of an application in the initiated application session for a pre-determined time period.

18. The server of claim 17, wherein the server process stalls the application in the initiated application session responsive to exceeding the pre-determined time period and failure to reconnect the server and the user.

19. The server of claim 11, wherein the network module

requests instructions from the second client computer for connecting the initiated application session to the second client computer;

and

receives instructions declining to connect the second client computer to the initiated application session.

20. The server of claim 19, wherein the network module requests instructions from the second client computer for one of keeping the initiated application session active and terminating the initiated application session.