Session management between a web application and a CRM system

• US 8,695,069 B1
• Filed: 01/31/2012
• Issued: 04/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Chandramohan, Rajagopal, Ramakrishnan, Rajkumar, Kester, Jeffery W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nobahar, Abdulhakim
• Application Number:
  US13/362,609
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/6
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system that facilitates session management between a web application and a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. During operation, the system receives, at a proxy, a service call intended for a CRM system. Next, the system modifies a header of the service call to include authentication credentials for the CRM system. The system then determines if an available session token for the CRM system exists at the proxy. If so, the system modifies the header of the service call to include the session token. Next, the system forwards the service call with the modified header to the CRM system. The system then receives a response to the service call, which includes the session token. Upon receiving the response, the system stores the session token at the proxy for a subsequent service call. Finally, the system forwards the response to the web application.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for facilitating session management between a web application and a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, the method comprising:

receiving, at a proxy from a web application, a service call intended for a CRM system;

modifying a header of the service call, at the proxy, to include authentication credentials for the CRM system;

determining if an available session token for the CRM system exists at the proxy;

if so, modifying the header of the service call to include the session token;

determining if a maximum number of session tokens has been generated;

if so, queuing the service call until a session token becomes available;

forwarding the service call with the modified header to the CRM system;

receiving, at the proxy from the CRM system, a response to the service call, which includes the session token;

storing the session token at the proxy for a subsequent service call to the CRM system; and

forwarding the response to the web application.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the service call intended for the CRM system involves receiving the service call via Uniform Resource Locator (URL) redirection.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if a time span of a specific session token has exceeded a pre-determined limit; and

if so, eliminating the specific session token.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if a number of available session tokens has reached a pre-determined threshold; and

if so, eliminating one or more of the available session tokens.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the proxy is an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) Stateless Session bean.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein each EJB instance manages a single session with the CRM system.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for facilitating session management between a web application and a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, the method comprising:

receiving, at a proxy from a web application, a service call intended for a CRM system;

modifying a header of the service call, at the proxy, to include authentication credentials for the CRM system;

determining if an available session token for the CRM system exists at the proxy;

if so, modifying the header of the service call to include the session token;

determining if a maximum number of session tokens has been generated;

if so, queuing the service call until a session token becomes available;

forwarding the service call with the modified header to the CRM system;

receiving, at the proxy from the CRM system, a response to the service call, which includes the session token;

storing the session token at the proxy for a subsequent service call to the CRM system; and

forwarding the response to the web application.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein receiving the service call intended for the CRM system involves receiving the service call via Uniform Resource Locator (URL) redirection.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

determining if a time span of a specific session token has exceeded a pre-determined limit; and

if so, eliminating the specific session token.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

determining if a number of available session tokens has reached a pre-determined threshold; and

if so, eliminating one or more of the available session tokens.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the proxy is an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) Stateless Session bean.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein each EJB instance manages a single session with the CRM system.

13. An apparatus configured for facilitating session management between a web application and a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, comprising:

a memory;

a processor;

a receiving mechanism configured to receive, at a proxy from a web application, a service call intended for a CRM system;

a modification mechanism configured to modify a header of the service call, at the proxy, to include authentication credentials for the CRM system;

a determination mechanism configured to determine if an available session token for the CRM system exists at the proxy;

wherein the modification mechanism is further configured to modify the header of the service call to include the session token if an available session token for the CRM system exists at the proxy;

wherein the determination mechanism is further configured to determine if a maximum number of session tokens has been generated;

a queuing mechanism configured to queue the service call until a session token becomes available if a maximum number of session tokens has been generated;

a forwarding mechanism configured to forward the service call with the modified header to the CRM system;

wherein the receiving mechanism is further configured to receive, at the proxy from the CRM system, a response to the service call, which includes the session token;

a storage mechanism configured to store the session token at the proxy for a subsequent service call to the CRM system; and

wherein the forwarding mechanism is further configured to forward the response to the web application.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the receiving mechanism is further configured to receive the service call intended for the CRM system via Uniform Resource Locator (URL) redirection.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

wherein the determination mechanism is further configured to determine if a time span of a specific session token has exceeded a pre-determined limit; and

an elimination mechanism configured to eliminate the specific session token if the time span of the specific session token has exceeded the pre-determined limit.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

wherein the determination mechanism is further configured to determine if a number of available session tokens has reached a pre-determined threshold; and

an elimination mechanism configured to eliminate one or more of the available session tokens if the number of available session tokens has reached the pre-determined threshold.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the proxy is an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) Stateless Session bean.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein each EJB instance manages a single session with the CRM system.