Patent Grant
8375113
This Application is related to the following U.S. patent applications:
“Preparing Output XML Based on Selected Programs and XML Templates,” by Michele C. Lee, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,410, filed Nov. 30, 2001; and
“Provisioning Bridge Server,” by Richard P. Sinn, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/146,150, filed May 15, 2002.
Each of these related Applications are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to technology for supporting a framework for controlled access of common data store information among multiple accessing entities.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the growth of the Internet, the use of networks and other information technologies, Identity Systems have become more popular. In general, an Identity System provides for the creation, removal, editing and other managing of identity information stored in various types of data stores. The identity information pertains to users, groups, organizations and/or things. For each entry in the data store, a set of attributes are stored. For example, the attributes stored for a user may include a name, address, employee number, telephone number, email address, user ID and password. The Identity System can also manage access privileges that govern what an entity can view, create, modify or use in the Identity System. Often, this management of access privileges is based on one or more specific attributes, membership in a group and/or association with an organization.
In some instances, multiple applications running within the Identity System or outside of the Identity System want to access the same information in the data store. For example, the Identity System may include multiple identity servers that each wish to access the same profile of a user maintained in the data store. No conflict occurs if multiple identity server applications read the same data store information, such as attributes in the user profile.
One of the applications, however, may need to modify the user profile. If the other applications access the profile before the modification is complete, they may obtain stale data. During a resource provisioning process, the profile may undergo multiple modifications—making it undesirable to give any entity access to the profile other than the resource provisioning entity. It is desirable to implement a framework that facilitates the controlled access of common data store information among multiple accessing entities.
Some Identity System users also employ an Access Systems. An Access System provides for the authentication and authorization of users attempting to access resources. For efficiency purposes, there is an advantage to integrating the Identity System and the Access System. For example, both systems may utilize information in a common data store. Additionally, integrating the Identity System and the Access System allows for single-sign-on functionality across multiple resources. Thus, there is also a need to support a framework for controlled access of common data store information among multiple accessing entities for Access Systems and integrated Identity/Access Systems. Systems other than Identity and Access Systems can also benefit from such an access control framework.
The present invention, roughly described, pertains to technology that provides a framework for controlling access to common data store information among multiple entities. In one embodiment, a corresponding wrapper is created for information that may be subject to simultaneous access attempts. The wrapper includes an attribute that identifies the accessibility of the information—indicating whether the information is locked from further access, shared among multiple entities, or not locked at all. Further embodiments of the wrapper provide additional attributes that are useful to a controlled access framework. Before accessing information in the data store, an entity looks at the wrapper associated with the information to determine the type of access allowed, if any.
In one embodiment, an Identity System maintains the wrappers as objects in the data store. Each wrapper object corresponds to another object for the purpose of controlling access to that object. In one example, wrapper objects control access to user profiles and resource profiles maintained as objects in the data store. Each user profile contains attributes relating to an Identity System user, and each resource profile contains attributes relating to resources that need to be provisioned to one or more Identity System users. In further examples, wrapper objects are used to control access to many different types of objects in different types of systems, like an Access System or integrated Identity/Access System.
Wrappers for user and resource profiles are useful for controlling access to these profiles when resources are provisioned. When a user profile is created or modified, it may become necessary to provision a new resource to the user. One embodiment of the present invention generates resource profiles that correspond to some or all of the resources that need to be provisioned to the user. The Identity System creates wrapper profiles for the user profile and each resource profile. A request for provisioning is issued, and an entity responsible for managing provisioning, such as a provisioning bridge server, services the provisioning request.
In one embodiment, the provisioning bridge server employs the wrappers that correspond to the profiles for the user and each resource that needs provisioning. The provisioning bridge server uses the wrappers to ensure that another entity has not locked the user and resource profiles. If the profiles are not locked, the provisioning bridge server sets locking status attributes in the corresponding wrappers to lock the user and resource profiles. Once the profiles are locked, provisioning proceeds. When provisioning is complete, the user and resource profiles are updated and the corresponding wrappers' attributes are set to unlock the profiles. In a further implementation, wrappers are deleted if they have no further use.
The present invention can be accomplished using hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware and software. The software used for the present invention is stored on one or more processor readable storage media including hard disk drives, CD-ROMs, DVDs, optical disks, floppy disks, tape drives, RAM, ROM or other suitable storage devices. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the software can be replaced by dedicated hardware including custom integrated circuits, gate arrays, FPGAs, PLDs, and special purpose computers. In one embodiment, software implementing the present invention is used to program one or more processors. The processors can be in communication with one or more storage devices, peripherals and/or communication interfaces.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from the following description in which the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth in conjunction with the drawings.
Web Server 18 is a standard Web Server known in the art and provides an end user with access to various resources via network 16. One embodiment includes two firewalls. A first firewall (see dotted lines) is connected between network 16 and Web Server 18. A second firewall (see dotted lines) is connected between Web Servers 16 and 18 and Access Server 34/Identity Server 40.
The Access System includes Access Server 34, Web Gate 28, and Directory 36. Access Server 34 provides authentication, authorization, auditing and logging services. It further provides for identity profiles to be used across multiple domains and for access based on a single web-based authentication (sign-on). Web Gate 28 acts as an interface between Web Server 18 and Access Server 34. Web Gate 28 intercepts requests from users for resources 22 and 24, and authorizes them via Access Server 34. Access Server 34 is able to provide centralized authentication, authorization, and auditing services for resources hosted on or available to Web Server 18 and other Web Servers.
The Identity System includes Web Pass 38, Identity Server 40 and Directory 36. Identity Server 40 manages identity profiles. An identity profile is a set of information associated with a particular entity (e.g. user, group, organization, etc.). The data elements of the identity profile are called attributes. An attribute may include a name, a value and access criteria. The Identity Server includes three main applications, which effectively handle the identity profiles and privileges of the user population: User Manager 42, Group Manager 44, and Organization Manager 46. User Manager 42 manages the identity profiles for individual users. Group Manager 44 manages identity profiles for groups. Organization Manager 46 manages identity profiles for organizations. Identity Server 40 also includes Publisher 48, an application that enables entities to quickly locate and graphically view information stored by Directory 36. In one embodiment, Web Pass 38 is a Web Server plug-in that sends information back and forth between Identity Server 40 and the Web Server 20, creating a three-tier architecture. The Identity System also provides a Certificate Processing Server (not shown in
User Manager 42 handles the functions related to user identities and access privileges, including creation and deletion of user identity profiles, modification of user identity profile data, determination of access privileges, and credentials management of both passwords and digital certificates. With User Manager 42, the create, delete, and modify functions of user identity management can be set as flexible, multi-step workflows. Each business can customize its own approval, setup, and management processes and have multiple processes for different kinds of users.
Group Manager 44 allows entities to create, delete and manage groups of users who need identical access privileges to a specific resource or set of resources. Managing and controlling privileges for a group of related people-rather than handling their needs individually—yield valuable economies of scale. Group Manager 44 meets a wide range of e-business needs: easy creation, maintenance, and deletion of permanent and ad hoc groups of users who may be allowed or denied access to particular resources; modification and adaptation of groups and their access privileges with minimal disruption to the directory server's underlying schema; efficient addition and deletion of users from established groups; and delegation of administrative responsibility for group membership and subscription requests and approvals.
With Group Manager 44, companies (or other entities) can allow individual users to do the following: (1) self-subscribe to and unsubscribe from groups, (2) view the groups that they are eligible to join or have joined, and (3) request subscription to groups that have access to the applications they need. Multi-step workflows can then define which users must obtain approval before being added to a group and which can be added instantly. Group Manager 44 also lets organizations form dynamic groups specified by an LDAP filter. The ability to create and use dynamic groups is extremely valuable because it eliminates the administrative headache of continually keeping individual, static membership up-to-date. With dynamic group management features, users can be automatically added or removed if they meet the criteria specified by the LDAP filter. Dynamic groups also greatly enhance security since changes in user identities that disqualify someone from membership in a group are automatically reflected in the dynamic group membership.
The third main application in the Identity System, Organization Manager 46, streamlines the management of large numbers of organizations within an e-business network, including partners, suppliers, or even major internal organizations such as sales offices and business units. Certain infrastructure security and management operations are best handled—or can only be handled—at the highest organizational unit level rather than at the individual or group level. Like User Manager and Group Manager, this application relies on multi-step workflow and delegation capabilities. Organization Manager handles the following administrative tasks: (1) organization lifecycle management, whereby companies can create, register, and delete organizations in their systems using customizable workflows; (2) maintenance of organization profiles on an attribute-by-attribute basis through self-service, delegated administration and system-initiated activities; (3) organization self-registration, whereby organizations such as business partners, customers and suppliers can self-generate a request to be added to the e-business network; and (4) creation of reusable rules and processes through multi-step workflows.
Provisioning Bridge Server 49 provisions tasks among provisioning systems (not shown) external to the Identity System. In one embodiment, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 supports multiple provisioning systems. Provisioning Bridge System 49 is in communication with Identity Server 40 and Directory Server 36—receiving task requests from Identity Server 40 and maintaining control information in Directory Server 36. In one implementation, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 is part of the Identity System, while in other embodiments it is not. The tasks provisioned by Provisioning Bridge Server 49 provide or remove external resource access for entities managed by the Identity System, such as users. Examples of external resources include computer and telephone systems. Greater details about Provisioning Bridge Server 49 are provided below.
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The received log-on information is passed back to Web Server 18 and on to Web Gate 28. Web Gate 28 in turn makes an authentication request to Access Server 34, which determines whether the user's supplied log-on information is authentic or not. Access Server 34 performs the authentication by accessing attributes of the user's identity profile and the resource's authentication criteria stored on Directory 36. If the user's supplied log-on information satisfies the authentication criteria, the process flows as described below; otherwise, the end user is notified that access to the requested resource is denied and the process halts.
After authenticating the user, Web Gate 28 queries Access Server 34 about whether the user is authorized to access the resource requested. Access Server 34 in turn queries Directory 36 for the appropriate authorization criteria for the requested resource. Access Server 34 retrieves the authorization criteria for the resource and answers Web Gate 28's authorization query, based on the resource's authorization criteria and the user's identity profile. If the user is authorized, the user is granted access to the resource; otherwise, the user's request is denied. Various alternatives to the above described flow are also within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Authentication and Authorization decisions are based on policy domains and policies. A policy domain is a logical grouping of Web Server host ID's, host names, URL prefixes, and rules. Host names and URL prefixes specify the course-grain portion of the web name space a given policy domain protects. Rules specify the conditions in which access to requested resources is allowed or denied, and to which end users these conditions apply. Policy domains contain two levels of rules: first level default rules and second level rules contained in policies. First level default rules apply to any resource in a policy domain not associated with a policy.
A policy is a grouping of a URL pattern, resource type, operation type (such as a request method), and policy rules. These policy rules are the second level rules described above. Policies are always attached to a policy domain and specify the fine-grain portion of a web name space that a policy protects. In practice, the host names and URL prefixes from the policy's policy domain are logically concatenated with the policy's URL pattern. The resulting overall pattern is compared to the incoming URL. If there is a match, then the policy's various rules are evaluated to determine whether the request should be allowed or denied; if there is not a match, then default policy domain rules are used.
If the user successfully authenticates for the requested resource (step 62), then the method proceeds to step 74. Otherwise, the unsuccessful authentication is logged (step 64). After step 64, the system performs authentication failure actions and Web Gate 28 denies the user access to the requested resource (step 66). In step 74, the successful authentication of the user for the resource is logged. The method then performs authentication success actions (step 76). In response to the successful authentication, Web Gate 28 then passes a valid authentication cookie to browser 12 (step 80), which stores the cookie. After passing the cookie in step 80, the system attempts to authorize (step 56).
In step 56, the method determines whether the user is authorized to access the requested resource. If the user is authorized (step 90), the method proceeds to step 92. Otherwise, the unsuccessful authorization is logged (step 96). After step 96, the method performs authorization failure actions (step 98) and Web Gate 28 denies the user access to the requested resource. If authorization is successful (step 90), then the successful authorization of the user is logged (step 92). Authorization success actions are performed in step 94. The user is granted access to the requested resource (step 95). In one embodiment of step 95, some or all of HTTP request information is provided to the resource. In one or more scenarios, the resource being accessed is the Identity System.
More information about authorization, authentication, an Access System and an Identity System can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,410, “Preparing Output XML Based on Selected Programs and XML Templates,” filed on Nov. 30, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Both the Identity System and the Access System make use of Directory 36. The basic unit of information store in Directory 36 is called an entry or profile, which is a collection of information about an object. The information in an entry often describes a real-world object such as a person, but this is not required. A typical directory includes many profiles that correspond to people, departments, groups and other objects in the organization served by the directory. A profile is composed of a set of attributes, each of which describes one particular trait of the object. Each attribute has a type, one or more values, and associated access criteria. The type describes the kind of information contained in the attribute, and the value contains the actual data.
A profile in the directory has a set of attributes that are required and a set of attributes that are allowed. For example, a profile describing a person is required to have a cn (common name) attribute and a sn (surname) attribute. One example of an allowed attribute may be a nickname. Any attribute not explicitly required or allowed is prohibited.
Examples of attributes stored in a user profile include: first name, middle name, last name, title, email address, telephone number, fax number, mobile telephone number, pager number, pager email address, identification of work facility, building number, floor number, mailing address, room number, mail stop, manager, direct reports, administrator, organization that the user works for, department number, department URL, skills, projects currently working on, past projects, home telephone, home address, birthday, previous employers and anything else desired to be stored by an administrator. Examples of attributes stored in a group profile include: owner, name, description, static members, dynamic member rule, subscription policies, etc. Examples of attributes stored in a user organization profile include: owner, name, description, business category, address, country, etc. In other embodiments, less or more than the above-listed information is stored.
Each entity has a distinguished name (DN), which uniquely identifies the node. In one embodiment, each entry also has a relative name, which is different from all other relative names on the same level of the hierarchy. In one implementation, the distinguished name (DN) comprises a union of the relative names up the tree. For example, the distinguished name of employee 1 (node 150) is DN=CN=Empl, OU=OrgA, O=CompanyA, DC=entity, where:
There are many ways for an entity to access and use the Identity System. In one embodiment, the entity can access the Identity System's services using a browser. In other embodiments, XML documents and API's can be used to access the services of the Identity System. For example, an entity can use a browser by pointing the browser to Identity Server 40. The user will then be provided with a login page to enter the user's ID, password, type of user and application requested (optional). Upon filling out that information, the user will be authenticated and authorized (by the Access System) to use the Identity System. Alternatively, the Access System can be bypassed (or there may be no Access System) and the Identity System authenticates the user.
As described above, the Identity System of
By selecting My Identity tab 206, a user is provided with the information stored in that user's identity profile. Create User Identity tab 208 allows a user with the appropriate privileges to create a new user identity profile (e.g. with a workflow). Deactivate User Identity tab 210 allows a user with proper privileges to remove an identity profile from the directory. Substitute Rights tab 212 allows the user to indicate who can proxy that user and allows the user to be a proxy for someone else. Request tab 214 allows a user to monitor workflows that are in progress or recently completed. Depending on the user's privileges, by selecting request tab 214, the user can see all workflows that involve that user, that are started by that user, that affect that user or that the user has privileges to view. Request tab 214 will indicate workflows for which there is an outstanding action to be done by the current user. The user can select that workflow and perform the task.
Configure tab 216 allows a user to configure various options for User Manger 42. The user must have sufficient privileges to access Configure tab 216. The user can perform attribute access control, delegate administration, define workflows and set the search base. Attribute access control includes controlling who has view and modify permissions for each attribute. Attributes can be set at any and all levels in an organization. The configuration also allows the specification of an e-mail notification list when a change to an attribute is requested. Delegation administration includes delegating administrative tasks to local administrators. An entity can choose what rights to delegate, whom to delegate to, and the scope to delegate. Workflow definition includes defining workflows for a particular organization, defining who will be responsible for the workflow actions and/or defining who will be receiving notifications for the workflow actions. Setting the search base includes setting the search base for a particular organization, person or set of persons. This will localize access to ensure security.
Configure tab 240 allows an entity to provide attribute access control, delegate rights, define workflows and expand dynamic groups. Attribute access control includes controlling who has view and modify permissions for each attribute in group identity profiles. Additionally, e-mail notification lists can be created which are used to notify entities when a change to an attribute is requested. Administration tasks can be delegated to local administrators. An entity can choose what rights to delegate, who to delegate to, and what the scope of the delegation is. Workflow definition includes defining the workflows for a particular group. This includes defining who is responsible for the workflow actions and who will be receiving notifications for workflow actions. Note that some of the tabs and services may not be available to all entities, depending upon the privileges of those entities. Manage Subscriptions tab 239 allows users to subscribe to groups or unsubscribe from groups. Manage Members tab 241 allows users to view, add, remove, and search members of a group.
Create Organizational Profile tab 246 allows a user to create new organizational objects, if the user has sufficient privileges. Request tab 248 allows a user to access pending workflows and workflows that have recently been finished that relate to organizational objects. Access to Request tab 248 can be restricted and/or limited depending upon users privileges. If a user has a step to perform for a workflow, it will be indicated by Request tab 248.
Configure tab 250 allows the entity to perform attribute access control, delegate administration, define workflows and define container limits. Attribute access control includes controlling who has view and modify permissions for each attribute of an organizational identity profile. In addition, an entity can specify an e-mail notification list when a change to an attribute is requested. Delegating administration includes delegating administrative tasks to local administrators. An entity can choose what rights to delegate, whom to delegate to, and the scope of the delegation. Workflow definition includes defining the workflows for a particular organization, including who will be responsible for the workflow actions and who will be receiving notifications for the workflow. Container limits includes controlling how many objects can be created in an organization. This would also include defining who will be receiving notifications that a container limit has been met, has been violated or is close to being met.
Provisioning system 310 includes agents 312, 314, and 316. Provisioning system 320 includes agents 322, 324, and 326. Provisioning systems 310 and 320 receive requests from Provisioning Bridge Server 49 to allocate or eliminate access to external resources for entities managed by the Identity System, such as users. Examples of external resources include applications and operating systems on computer systems and telephone connections. Provisioning systems 310 and 320 delegate each request they receive to an agent that is adapted to interface with the requested resource. Provisioning system 310 may allocate a task to agent 312, 314, or 316. Provisioning system 320 may allocate a task to agent 322, 324, or 326. As shown in
Multiple provisioning systems may be required to support all of the resources employed by the Identity System's entities. For example, provisioning system 310 may only have agents that interface with engineering related external resources, and provisioning system 320 may only have agents that interface with marketing related external resources. In one example, provisioning system 310 employs agents 312, 314, and 316 to provide and remove access to engineering related resources 311, 313, and 315. Provisioning system 320 employs agents 322, 324, and 326 to provide and remove access to marketing related external resources 321, 323, and 325.
Provisioning Bridge Server 49 facilitates the Identity System's automated use of multiple provisioning systems 310 and 320. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 maintains control information 300, which correlates the external resources used by Identity System entities with the various provisioning systems. During operation the Identity System may need to have a resource related task performed, such as providing an entity with access to a resource or eliminating an entity's access to a resource. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 identifies the proper provisioning system for performing the resource related task and submits a request to the proper provisioning system to perform the task. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 employs control information 300 to identify the proper provisioning system for performing the desired task.
In one implementation, control information 300 includes entries with the following fields: 1) Job Code—identifying a classification assigned to an entity in the Identity System based on the entity's role in one or more organizations; 2) Target—identifying an external resource corresponding to the Job Code; 3) Type—identifying a type of service the Target resource provides for the Job Code; 4) Approval—indicating whether approval is required to provide or eliminate access to the resource Target and Type for the Job Code; and 5) PS—identifying the provisioning system that supports the resource Target and Type. This only provides one example of fields for control information 300. Alternate embodiments of control information 300 may include numerous other configurations that correlate job codes, external resources, and provisioning systems.
Table 1 below shows one example of content in control information 300 having the fields described above:
Table 1 shows that Provisioning Bridge Server 49 needs to arrange for entities with Job Code A to receive the following: 1) accounts on computer system 1 for performing legal applications and engineering applications, and 2) an account on computer system 2 to perform e-mail applications. Approval must be obtained before gaining access to the engineering applications and e-mail. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 goes through provisioning system 310 for the engineering and legal applications and provisioning system 320 for the e-mail. Entities with Job Code B receive accounts for performing marketing applications on computer system 3 after obtaining approval. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 goes through provisioning system 320 for the marketing applications. Engineering applications may include design and simulation software among other things. Marketing applications may include inventory and order tracking software among other things. Legal applications may include docketing software among other things. In the example from Table 1, Job Code A could be assigned to an entity with a role related to engineering and legal groups within an organization. Job Code B could be assigned to an entity with a role related to a marketing group within an organization.
By employing job codes, the Identity System can provide entities, such as users, with a label that corresponds to the external resources the entity needs. The Identity System can assign job codes to an entity based on the role the entity plays in the organization managed by the Identity System. In one implementation the Identity System sets job codes for an entity based on the groups to which the entity belongs. In one embodiment, the Identity System associates a job code attribute with an entity to identify all of the entity's job codes. In some instances, an entity may have multiple job codes nested within the job code attribute.
In operation, a combination of Identity Servers 640 and 40 and Provisioning Bridge Servers may want to access the same information in Directory Server 36 at the same time. This can occur during resource provisioning. Multiple entities competing for access to the same information in Directory Server 36 can also occur in many different operations of the Identity System and Access System.
As described above, provisioning provides for the assignment or removal of resources associated with a user or another entity. In one embodiment, provisioning requests are maintained in a queue in the Identity System and processed by multiple Provisioning Bridge Servers, such as Servers 49 and 649. When no mechanism is provided to manage common access attempts to Directory Server information, multiple Provisioning Bridge Servers may attempt to service the same queue entries—potentially overriding or corrupting provisioning performed by one of the Provisioning Bridge Servers.
A wrapper profile includes attributes that relate to managing access of another profile. The state of one or more attributes in a wrapper profile indicate whether the corresponding profile is accessible. Greater detail regarding the format of a wrapper profile will be provided below. In one embodiment, a wrapper profile includes the following attributes: (1) Name—identifying the name for the wrapper profile; (2) Status Name—identifying the distinguished name for the wrapper profile; (3) Locking Status—identifying the accessibility of the profile corresponding to the wrapper profile; (4) Component Identifier—identifying a component or application that has set the Locking Status of the wrapper profile; (5) Current Time Stamp—identifying the time the Locking Status was last set for the wrapper profile; (6) Protected Identity Object DN—identifying the corresponding profile that has accessibility managed by the wrapper profile; and (7) Protected Identity Attribute—identifying at least one attribute in the profile identified by the Protected Identity Object DN that is locked. In an alternate embodiment, different attributes can be employed in a wrapper profile.
The following provides an example of Organization Manager 46 creating a wrapper profile that corresponds to a user profile. Organization Manager 46 sets the Name attribute in the wrapper profile to identify the wrapper profile's name. Organization Manager 46 sets the Status Name attribute to the wrapper profile's distinguished name. Organization Manager 46 sets the Locking Status attribute to a desired value.
In one implementation, the possible Locking Status values are as follows: 1) locked—preventing any other entity from accessing the corresponding user profile; 2) shared—allowing other entities to access the user profile to read information; and 3) not locked—allowing any entity to access the user profile for reading or writing information. In alternate embodiments, different Locking Status attribute values can be set.
Organization Manager 46 sets the Component Identifier attribute value to identify Identity Server 40 in one embodiment. In alternate embodiments, Organization Manager 46 or Provisioning Bridge 49 is identified in the Component Identifier attribute. Organization Manager 46 also sets the Current Time Stamp attribute to the current time.
Organization Manager 46 sets the Protected Identity Object DN attribute to the distinguished name for the user profile. Organization Manager 46 sets the Protected Identity Attribute to identify attributes in the user profile. In one embodiment, the identified user profile attributes are relevant to a task to be performed while the user profile is locked.
Once a wrapper profile is created for the user profile (step 702,
In one implementation, Provisioning Bridge Servers 49 and 649 each select provisioning requests from a queue maintained by the Identity System. In one implementation, the Organization Managers in each Identity Server maintain a single provisioning request. In one embodiment, each queue entry includes the following fields: (1) Status Name—identifying the distinguished name of the wrapper profile for the user profile that corresponds to the resources being provisioned; (2) Component Identifier—providing the value from a Component Identifier attribute in the wrapper profile identified in the Status Name field; and (3) Locking Status—identifying the value of the Locking Status attribute in the wrapper profile identified in the Status Name field. In this embodiment, the request only identifies wrapper profiles that correspond to user profiles.
The Provisioning Bridge Server is aware of the corresponding resource profiles based on information in a configuration file maintained in the Identity System. Alternatively, the resource profiles can be provided to a Provisioning Bridge Server in a number of different ways. The wrapper for the user profile can have attributes identifying the resource profiles for the user. A workflow employed in modifying the user profile and calling for provisioning can provide the distinguished names for the resource profiles. Many other methods can be used for providing the corresponding resource profiles to the Provisioning Bridge Server.
As shown in
If provisioning requests are pending, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 selects a provisioning request (step 782). The Provisioning Bridge Server 49 determines whether the user profile associated with the provisioning request is locked (step 784). In order to make this determination, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 identifies and accesses the wrapper profile associated with the user profile. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 looks at the Status Name field in the provisioning request to identify the distinguished name of the wrapper for the user profile. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 looks to the Locking Status attribute in the wrapper profile to determine whether the user profile is locked. If the Locking Status is not locked, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 proceeds to service the provision request (step 788). Otherwise, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 determines whether the user profile has encountered a processing error (step 786). In alternate embodiments, no attempt is made to identify processing errors.
In order to identify and access the wrapper profile corresponding to the user profile in step 784, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 employs a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (“LDAP”) search in one embodiment. In the LDAP search, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 queries Directory Server 36 for a wrapper profile that satisfies the following criteria: 1) a distinguished name that appears in the Status Name field of the provisioning request; and 2) a Locking Status attribute with a not locked value. If the search is successful, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 is said to have determined that the user profile is not locked. If the search is not successful, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 is said to have not determined that the profile is not locked. In an alternate embodiment, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 queries the provisioning request queue maintained by the Organization Manager(s) to identify the Locking Status of the wrapper profile identified in the provisioning request. This status informs Provisioning Bridge Server 49 of whether the user profile is not locked, locked, or shared.
Provisioning Bridge Server 49 waits for a threshold period of time (step 800). In one embodiment, the threshold period of time is longer than the time needed to perform any Access System or Identity System operation while the user profile is locked. In one implementation, the threshold period of time is twice as long as the maximum potential time period for a profile to be locked. Next, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 attempts to identify a wrapper profile that meets the following criteria: (1) a distinguished name matching the one provided in the Status Name field of the provisioning request; (2) a Locking Status attribute value of locked; and (3) a Current Time Stamp attribute value that is less than the current time by at least the threshold period of time (step 802). If Provisioning Bridge Server 49 is successful in finding such a wrapper profile, an error is detected. Otherwise, no error exists.
In order to identify a wrapper profile meeting the above criteria in one embodiment, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 performs an LDAP search for a wrapper that meets the above-listed criteria. In alternate embodiments, protocols other than LDAP may be employed to make the error determination. In still further embodiments, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 limits the wrapper profile search to a wrapper meeting the above-described criteria and having a Component Identifier attribute value that corresponds to an entity other than Organization Manager 46 or Identity Server 40. This limitation reflects the fact that the crashed Identity Server, Organization Manager, or Provisioning Bridge Server is most likely not the Identity Server or Provisioning Bridge Server carrying out the current operations.
Returning to
Provisioning Bridge Server 49 identifies wrapper profiles for each of the resource profiles associated with the user profile (step 824). Provisioning Bridge Server 49 uses an LDAP search to make this identification in one embodiment. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 searches for wrapper profiles in Directory Server 36 that meet the following criteria: 1) a Protected Identity Object DN attribute value that matches the distinguished name for a resource profile; and 2) a Locking Status attribute value of not locked. Methods other than an LDAP search can be employed. In alternate embodiments, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 searches for all wrapper profiles that correspond to the resource profiles, regardless of whether the wrapper profiles have a not locked Locking Status. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 then performs error processing detection as described above for wrapper profiles that do not have a not locked status.
For each wrapper profile identified in step 824, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 sets the wrapper profile's locking state to locked (step 826). Provisioning Bridge Server 49 then proceeds to receive resource profile information from the identified and locked wrapper profiles (step 828). In one embodiment, the information received includes attribute values that relate to the resources being provisioned. In further embodiments, no resource profile information is received.
Provisioning Bridge Server 49 provisions the tasks associated with the provisioning requests (step 830) and waits for all provisioning tasks to be completed (step 832). Further details regarding provisioning will be provided below. Once the provision tasks are completed, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 unlocks the wrapper profiles associated with the user profile and resource profiles (step 834). In one embodiment, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 unlocks each user and resource profile by setting the corresponding wrapper profile's locking state to not locked—setting the Locking Status for each of the wrapper profiles to not locked. If the wrapper profiles are no longer needed, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 proceeds to delete the wrapper profiles (step 836). For example, if no more resource provisioning is anticipated for the user until another user modification workflow is executed, then there is no need for the wrapper profiles. In one embodiment, the unlocking step of 834 is not performed if wrapper profiles are to be deleted in step 836. The deletion serves as unlocking the user and resource profiles. In implementations where wrapper profiles are not deleted, unlocking user and resource profiles is carried out by changing the Locking Status within a wrapper profile.
Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with respect to provisioning, many different processes within an Identity System, Access System, or integrated identity/Access System may employ the use of wrapper profiles to manage simultaneous access attempts of information in Directory Server 36.
Provisioning Bridge Server 49 determines whether any job code related tasks from the user or resource profiles need to be assigned to a provisioning system (step 842). Provisioning Bridge Server 49 accesses job code attributes in the user and resource profiles and employs control information 300 to determine the required tasks for each job code and the provisioning systems that perform those tasks. Control information 300 identifies the external resources, such as Target and Type, that need to be accessed for a job code and the provisioning system that supports each of the resources. If the job code is being added to a profile's job code attribute, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 recognizes that the required tasks will call for providing access to the external resources specified for the job code. If the job code is being deleted from a profile's job code attribute, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 recognizes that the required tasks will call for removing access to the external resources specified for the job code.
If there are tasks that have not yet been assigned to a provisioning system, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 submits a request to one of the provisioning systems (systems 310 and 320,
Once all of the job code related tasks have been assigned, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 waits for the requested tasks to be completed (step 844), regardless of whether they have failed or completed successfully. In one implementation, each provisioning system signals when a task has been completed—indicating whether it completed the task successfully or failed. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 determines whether any of the tasks failed (step 846). If none of the tasks failed, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 signals that the job code related tasks have all been, provisioned and successfully performed (step 850).
If any of the tasks failed (step 846), Provisioning Bridge Server 49 determines whether to continue with provisioning step 830 (
In further embodiments, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 does not submit all of the task requests and wait for their completion before proceeding. Instead, each task request is assigned to a separate thread of operation and proceeds individually. In one implementation this processing occurs in parallel. In yet another implementation, this processing occurs serially.
Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with respect to provisioning, wrapper profiles are useful—in other circumstances. Wrapper profiles are useful in any instance where multiple entities attempt to simultaneously access the same information in Directory Server 36. Examples of such competing entities include Identity Servers and Provisioning Bridge Servers. This includes accesses by Identity Server applications, including User Manager, Group Manager, and Organization Manager. In further embodiments, entities outside of the Identity System or Access System may also attempt to access information in Directory Server 36. These entities include third party applications that interoperate with the Access System and Identity System. These third party applications exchange information with the Identity and Access Systems using XML documents in one embodiment. Details about these exchanges are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,410, “Preparing Output XML Based on Selected Programs and XML Templates,” which is incorporated herein by reference. In one example, a third party application uses XML formatted documents to exchange information with wrappers and their corresponding profiles, as well as perform LDAP searches of Directory Server 36.
In further embodiments, an entity is restricted to accessing wrappers and corresponding profiles that are controlled only by the entity. In one such embodiment, the wrapper profile identification steps described above all include the extra limitation of only identifying wrapper profiles that have a Component Identifier attribute value that corresponds to the entity attempting to access the profile. For example, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 can only access wrapper profiles with a Component Identifier attribute value of Identity Server 40, Organization Manager 46, or Provisioning Bridge Server 49.
This restriction can be employed to limit access to a group of wrappers and their underlying profiles to applications associated with a particular Identity Server. In this embodiment, only the User Manager, Group Manager, Organization Manager, and Provisioning Bridge Server associated with the Identity Server are allowed to access the wrapper profiles. This automatically blocks all accesses of the wrappers and their associated profiles by other Identity Servers or applications.
In yet another mode of operation, each combination of a wrapper and associated profile is processed separately as opposed to the group approach described above with respect to
Much of the discussion above relating to wrapper profiles has focused on distinguishing between the wrapper profile's locked and not locked state. In some implementations, the shared state is also employed in the Locking Status attribute. In the shared state, other entities may access the profile corresponding to the wrapper profile to read information. Modifying the profile, however, is not permitted. This may be useful when one application is attempting to modify a user profile to add new attributes, while another entity wishes to read the values of existing attributes.
Provisioning Bridge Server 49 identifies a wrapper profile for an accessible resource profile (step 880). In one embodiment, step 880 can be performed through an LDAP search of Directory Server 36—searching for a wrapper profile that meets the following criteria: 1) a distinguished name corresponding to the Status Name in the provisioning request; and 2) a Locking Status attribute of either not locked or shared. Provisioning Bridge Server 49 determines whether the locking state of the wrapper profile is shared—meaning that the Locking Status attribute is set to shared (step 882).
If the wrapper profile's locking state is shared, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 receives resource profile information relating to the provisioning task to be performed (step 886). Otherwise, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 sets the locking state of the wrapper profile to locked—preventing others from accessing the underlying resource profile (step 884). In alternate embodiments, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 sets the wrapper profile's locking state to shared. In setting the locking state, Provisioning Bridge Server 49 employs the process shown in
The processes shown in
As described above, wrapper profiles can be very useful in carrying out resource provisioning. In many instances, resource provisioning is performed as part of a workflow, such as a workflow for modifying a user profile or creating a user profile. In further embodiments, different workflows may call for different operations to be performed where the use of wrapper profiles is also important.
A lot of the tasks that are performed in the Identity System are accomplished using workflows. As described above, a workflow can initiate the process of provisioning resources. This may occur in a workflow that creates or modifies a user profile. In general, a workflow is a predefined set of steps that perform a specific task, where information or tasks are passed between participants and programs according to a defined set of rules. One embodiment of the present invention supports the following types of workflows: create object; delete object; change the value of attributes; and certificate issuance, revocation and renewal. In one embodiment of the present invention, a user is required to change the value of an attribute, implement certificates or create a workflow to create or delete an object, such as a user or resource profile. Workflows ensure that an organization's guidelines for performing a task are met. Workflows can be defined in the User Manager, Group Manager or Organization Manager. In one implementation, a workflow can be used only in the application (e.g. User Manager) in which it was created. Each workflow has two or more steps, including one to start the action and one to implement or commit it. Each step can contain an action, send e-mail notifications to selected persons and start the next step if its entry conditions are satisfied. A workflow is associated with a portion of the directory tree. This allows an entity to have its organizations and partners enforce different workflows. Workflows can be stored in Directory Server 36.
Table 2 provides examples of different tasks that can be performed with workflows in the appropriate applications:
Each workflow includes two or more steps. Each step can include one or more actions. More information relating to different actions that can be performed with various types of workflows is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/997,410, “Preparing Output XML Based on Selected Programs and XML Templates,” which is incorporated herein by reference.
In some situations, a workflow is requested without knowing the location of the target identity profile. For example, a user can request to create an object without indicating where to store the object in the directory. In such a scenario, the system will find and report workflows that perform the requested task and can be accessed by the user. When the system reports the list of workflows (e.g. via a GUI), the system will also report the domain associated with each workflow. In this situation, step 946 includes the system receiving a selection from the user of the workflow desired, and the domain to operate on.
The system receives a selection from the user of the workflow desired (step 946). Note that if step 944 only identified one workflow, then step 946 can be skipped or performed automatically. It is determined whether the user is allowed to perform this workflow step (step 950). If not, the process of
Pre-notifications, if any, defined in the workflow are sent out (step 954). Cross application workflows, if any, are invoked, as per the event catalog (step 956). The current step of the workflow is performed (step 958). It is then determined whether there are supplied variables (step 960). When creating a workflow, the creator had the option of defining the types of variables. Supplied variables are those variables whose value will be supplied by a subflow. If the current step has a supplied variables, then the system searches for any workflows that can supply the variable and apply to the appropriate domain. If only one workflow is found for each supplied variable, then those workflows are initiated as a subflow (step 962). If multiple workflows are found for a particular supplied variable, then the user is given a choice and the chosen workflow is initiated as a subflow in step 962. Note that the subflow could itself have a subflow, which could itself have a subflow, and so on. There is no limitation on the number of subflow nestings.
If there are no supplied variables, or after the subflow(s) are started, the event catalog is accessed (step 964). Note that cross application workflows can be started pre-step or post-step. Step 964 is for post-step cross application workflows. Post step notifications are sent out, if any (step 966). The next step is accessed from the workflow definition (step 968). If there are no more steps, then the process of
The system determines whether the user is allowed to perform the next step (step 974). If not, the process of
Note that different steps may be set up for performance by different users. Thus, a first user may start the workflow but a different user or a different set of users may be needed for intermediate steps. Therefore, the process of
The foregoing detailed description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The described embodiments were chosen in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/395,152, “Access and Identity System,” filed on Jul. 11, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040010591 A1 | Jan 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60395152 | Jul 2002 | US |
