Management of authentication discovery policy in a computer network

US6418466B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Daniel Bertram · Cedar Park, US
• David Paul Dutcher · Austin, US
• Scott Alan Lenharth · Austin, US
• James M. Rolette · Round Rock, US
• Stanley Alan Smith · Austin, US
• Courtney J. Spooner · Hutto, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 10, 1997
• Grant date: Jul 9, 2002
• Expiry date: Jul 10, 2017

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04L63/20
• WIPO field: Digital communication
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method of discovering native or non-native authentication server domains and managing information about such domains in a computer network. The various domains are “discovered” by issuing requests from the client to one or more of the servers in the network. Each response is then characterized as being from a native or non-native server, and a list of each such server type is then compiled at the client. The administrator may modify the list, for example, by adding or removing server domains, or may apply a discovery “policy” to tailor the way in which a user may access and interact with the discovered information.