On-line directory service

Details On-line directory service On-line directory service

1999-06-28

2001-02-27

Alam, Hosain T. (Department: 2172)

Data processing: database and file management or data structures

Database design

Data structure types

C707S793000, C709S218000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06195660

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an on-line directory service.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many organizations, including commercial on-line information services and corporate networks, maintain directories of users that can be accessed by other users. In a corporate network, a user may access the directory by looking up a name or an extension number; and in a directory for a commercial service, a user may use a name or a name with other information to obtain records.
Some organizations provide databases from which information can be obtained through publicly accessible web sites. Access is typically made by connecting to the web site and making a request at an input screen. Often the databases have only a small number of records to be retrieved, and in some cases, performance is poor.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high performance directory service for databases with a very large number of records.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a directory service that is flexible, adaptable, and extendable.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a directory service with good monitoring and management functions.
The directory service of the present invention has a number of databases, each of which stores a large number of records. The service also has a processing system that includes a first processor that receives all initial requests from users over the Internet, and a number of other processors, termed “gaters,” each of which receives requests passed from the first processor and then communicates directly with the user independent of the first processor. The gaters can each communicate directly with each of the databases to retrieve records.
The directory service preferably also has dedicated databases for other services. The use of these dedicated databases is determined by the gaters with a preprocessing application that processes a user's request.
The present invention also includes a directory service monitored externally through a monitor that is located outside of a firewall between users and the directory service. The monitor randomly generates names from lists of first and last names, and provides an alarm, preferably a page to a system manager, if the response indicates that there is or may be a problem with the directory service.
The present invention also includes a configuration manager that communicates with applications residing in a processing system and in databases of a directory service.
The configuration manager and the applications also communicate with a directory that maintains information about the different applications, information about which applications are affected by each application, and various events that can cause reconfiguration to the applications. In response to some event, such as the addition or removal of a gater or a database, the configuration manager determines from the directory which applications are affected by such an event, and causes related applications to reconfigure accordingly.
The present invention thus provides a highly-scalable and flexible system that conveniently allows for databases and/or gaters to be added or removed. This system provides for convenient access to a very large number of records by a very large number of users from a publicly accessible Internet web site. The directory service has monitoring and management functions to ensure good performance. Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, the claims, and the drawings.


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