User profile service

• US 8,554,876 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2004
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Winsor, Gerald W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Christensen, Scott
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cloud, Joiya M
• Application Number:
  US10/763,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20050164704A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,546 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 455/432.3
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Systems, methods, and device are provided for a user profile service. One embodiment includes a method for user profile service. The method includes collecting user profile data from different network sources in a localized database. Business rules are provided to an application server to manage access to the collected user profile data in the database. The method further includes allowing different network service applications to access the collected user profile data as determined by the business rules.

Claims

1. A service delivery platform, comprising:

a gateway having connectivity to a communication network;

a mobile portal having connectivity to the gateway;

a mobile server accessible by the mobile portal;

a processor; and

an application server, to be executed by the processor, the application server having a web services interface connecting the mobile portal to the mobile server, and the mobile portal is to communicate with the mobile server via the web services interface of the application server,

wherein the application server includes a set of rules to manage access to user profile data in a user profile service database, wherein the user profile data in the user profile service database is collected from multiple network sources,

wherein the set of rules includes executable instructions to make the user profile data accessible across multiple network applications,

wherein the application server is to apply the set of rules in response to a request from one of the multiple network applications, and allow said network application to access the user profile data in the user profile service database when the request has been authorized by the set of rules, and

wherein the web services interface is to register the user profile data for services with the mobile server.

2. The platform of claim 1, wherein the web services interface is discoverable and invokeable as a stand-alone web service.

3. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web service interface uses a web services descriptor language (WSDL) document to register the user profile data with the mobile server.

4. The platform of claim 3, wherein the WSDL document is automatically generated from a Java Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

5. The platform of claim 1, wherein the set of rules of the application server is to integrate with business rule processing engines external to the platform.

6. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web services interface includes program instruction to access the mobile server using simple object access protocol (SOAP).

7. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web services interface includes program instruction to access the mobile server using Java Messaging Service (JMS).

8. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web services interface includes program instruction to access the mobile server using a messaging middleware application.

9. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web services interface includes program instruction to access the mobile server within a common object request broker architecture (CORBA).

10. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web services interface includes a middle tier cache to hold retrieved data from the user profile service database.

11. The platform of claim 10, wherein the application server having the web services interface further includes program instructions to provide session management and to clear the middle tier cache.

12. The platform of claim 1, wherein the set of rules is to control retrieval, update, and deletion of the user profile data.

13. The platform of claim 1, wherein the set of rules further includes instructions to log and debug.

14. The platform of claim 13, wherein the instructions to log include instructions to:

log updates to the user profile service database;

log who performed updates;

log when updates were performed;

log what updates were implemented;

log who made requests into the platform;

log when requests were made; and

log what information was requested.

15. The platform of claim 1, wherein the gateway connects the mobile portal to the communication network.

16. The platform of claim 1, wherein the mobile server includes a universal business registry of web services.

17. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web services interface and the user profile service database are to be accessed directly by the gateway.

18. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web services interface uses templates to define profile elements in the user profile data.

19. The platform of claim 18, wherein the templates are used by program instructions to register the user profile data with the mobile server for application processing.

20. The platform of claim 18, wherein the profile elements are selected from the group of:

a user ID;

a group ID;

a user name;

a preferred language;

a status;

a first name;

a last name;

a last login timestamp;

a street;

a street number;

a zip;

a city;

a country;

a gender;

a mobile subscription;

a mobile subscriber ISDN;

a current device location; and

an email address.

21. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web services interface is accessible across multiple network applications.

22. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server having the web service interface includes program instructions to register the user profile data in the user profile service database with a business registry of the mobile server and with a registry on one or more third party servers.

23. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server is to receive an authorized request from a user of a mobile device to update the user profile data.

24. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server is to receive identification and location information associated with a mobile device, and provide a service application to the mobile device based on the identification and the location information.

25. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server is to receive a request from a third party entity to update the user profile data.

26. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server is to provide a third party service application to a mobile device based on the user profile data.

27. The platform of claim 1, wherein the application server is to collect the user profile data from a number of third party network databases to populate the user profile service database.

28. A method for user profile service, comprising:

collecting, by an application server, a given user'"'"'s user profile data from multiple network applications in a localized database,

wherein the application server includes a web services interface connecting a mobile portal with a mobile server, the mobile portal to communicate with the mobile server via the web services interface,

wherein the web services interface is to register the user profile data for services with the mobile server;

providing a set of rules to the application server to manage access to the given user'"'"'s user profile data in the database,

wherein the set of rules includes executable instructions to make the user profile data accessible across the multiple network applications,

applying, by the application server, the set of rules in response to a request from one of the multiple network applications; and

allowing said network application to access the user profile data in the user profile database based on the request being authorized by the set of rules.

29. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions for causing a device to perform a method, comprising:

collecting, by an application server, a given user'"'"'s user profile data from multiple network applications in a localized database,

wherein the application server includes a web services interface connecting a mobile portal with a mobile server, the mobile portal to communicate with the mobile server via the web services interface,

wherein the web services interface is to register the user profile data for services with the mobile server;

providing a set of rules to the application server to manage access to the given user'"'"'s user profile data in the database,

wherein the set of rules includes executable instructions to make the user profile data accessible across the multiple network applications,

applying, by the application server, the set of rules in response to a request from one of the multiple network applications; and

allowing said network application to access the user profile data in the user profile database based on the request being authorized by the set of rules.