900 results about "Directory service" patented technology

A system and method of interactive cataloging of products and services by end users across multiple sales and marketing channels provide each end user with access to domain-independent catalog data from a plurality of vendor organizations through a catalog server system. Anonymous end user cataloging actions of products and / or services across multiple manufacturing, distribution, and retailing channels create personalized profile instances that are based on stored vendor catalog profile templates in the catalog server system, and stored in the end user's personalized electronic catalog as pre-sale digital receipts. An end user's personalized electronic catalog(s) can be shared with peers using mutual agreement permissions as managed by the catalog server system. Pre-sale digital receipts are used to provide a safe, secure, and convenient method for modifying an end user's actionable cataloged items from a pre-sale status to purchased status when purchased and to provide a traceable audit trail for each cataloged item or purchased item in order to facilitate respective pre-sales channel activities and post-sales channel support and services.

Telephone calls, data and other multimedia information is routed through a hybrid network which includes transfer of information across the internet utilizing telephony routing information and internet protocol address information. A media order entry captures complete user profile information for a user. This profile information is utilized by the system throughout the media experience for routing, billing, monitoring, reporting and other media control functions. Users can manage more aspects of a network than previously possible, and control network activities from a central site. A directory service that supports a hybrid communication system architecture is provided for routing traffic over the hybrid network and the internet and selecting a network proximal to the origination of the call.

Rich multimedia content is provided to a wireless device, particularly in response to a request for directory assistance generated by a client application. The multimedia content is provided as a multimedia message including bundled multimedia elements such as images, sound, text, and video files. The multimedia elements are compiled into a single multimedia presentation or deck that includes multiple screens that are automatically advanced for the convenience of the wireless device user. The user can interact with elements of the multimedia presentation, for example by placing orders, providing payment information, controlling playback, and forwarding or saving the deck to the wireless device. Multiple decks may be retrieved by a single request, and the decks are presented in an order determined by a bidding system or according to user preferences. Elements can be presented visually and / or audibly, and the user can interact using voice commands, manual entries, or stored entries.

The content metadata directory system connects consumers of identified content to managed metadata databases and other digital resources. The system manages links between identifiers in content objects and metadata sources. It supports a variety of different type of content identifiers and allows for overlap among different content identification schemes. One method of associating a content object with metadata uses a combination of a content identifier and a bounding identifier to enable handling of disparate sets of content identifiers for content objects with potentially conflicting content identifiers. The method receives a content identifier for a content object from among a set of content identifiers and provides a unique bounding identifier for the set of content identifiers. This unique bounding identifier is used in combination with the content identifier to form a globally unique identifier for the content object. This globally unique identifier is associated with a metadata source, which enables routing of a user to the metadata source.

An Internet directory system and method that is based on user telephone number addressing. The system includes an interactive white and yellow pages directory that is based on telephone numbers. Thus, a user's telephone number is a unique identifier used to key other information within the directory. The telephone number may also be used as the primary component of an email address, domain name, or web site URL for the user. The use of a telephone number as the primary component of an e-mail address or domain name greatly simplifies the process of locating a user. E-mail addresses and domain names may be readily found using standard telephone information services, such as "411", as well as other telephone-based methods for obtaining telephone directory information. This Internet directory system and method brings all communication methods and directory services together using one searchable key, a user's telephone number. The directory entry page may be created, edited and updated by the subscriber using simple html editing or using a voice telephone call or via fax, without the use of a personal computer. Thus, the present invention provides an open directory model wherein the end users construct the directory, and the directory is "living", i.e., dynamically changeable and updateable. The power of the directory is thus placed in the users' hands. The telephone based Internet directory system of the present invention also provides addressing for unified messaging as well as locality in addressing.

An approach for establishing secure multicast communication among multiple event service nodes is disclosed. The event service nodes, which can be distributed throughout an enterprise domain, are organized in a logical tree that mimics the logical tree arrangement of domains in a directory server system. The attributes of the event service nodes include the group session key and the private keys of the event service nodes that are members of the multicast or broadcast groups. The private keys provide unique identification values for the event service nodes, thereby facilitating distribution of such keys. Because keys as well as key version information are housed in the directory, multicast security can readily be achieved over any number of network domains across the entire enterprise. Key information is stored in, and the logical tree is supported by, a directory service. Replication of the directory accomplishes distribution of keys. Event service nodes may obtain current key information from a local copy of the replicated directory.

A system for managing mobile electronic devices in a network, including a plurality of mobile electronic devices, a directory service including user data pertaining to one or more users of the plurality of mobile electronic devices, and a device manager for receiving the user data and determining a group of the users and at least one privilege applicable the group based on the user data and data from at least one other source, wherein the device managers sends at least one mobile application to one or more of the plurality of mobile electronic devices based on the privilege, and wherein the device manager includes software for determining a status of the at least one mobile application for each of the one or more mobile electronic devices.

An apparatus and method for self-healing of software may rely on a distribution object in a directory services of a network to provide data for controlling distribution of software and installation of files associated therewith. A software object may represent a software product, system, data structure, application, or the like, from a single byte, to a complex program. A directory services system is responsible for maintaining a data store of inter-related logical entities (directory services objects), including software objects and a distribution object containing all distribution information associated with certain distribution processes. Maintenance methods may be programmed into a directory services object or some other executable to verify the existence of files required for particular software. Verification may be completed in association with a launch request, by explicit request, or in an ongoing maintenance procedure. Maintenance may include executables and data to control, complete, and record integrity of distributed files as a distinct activity or as an ongoing, routine, periodic process of verification and appropriate re-installation of files, operating transparently to a user.

System and methods for distributing audio content from plural audio sources to plural client terminals located on a network. The system includes an audio source interface that is coupled to receive raw audio from a first audio source, and converts the raw audio into a digital audio clip that is incorporated into a digital audio packet, which further contains a timestamp and a channel identity corresponding to the first audio source. A network audio server is coupled to receive the digital audio packet from the audio source interface, and operates to format the digital audio packet into a digital audio file that is compliant with the network, and store the digital audio file at a network address. The network audio server generates a directory packet that includes the network address of the digital audio file, the channel identity, and the timestamp, and couples the directory packet to a directory server located on the network. The directory server receives the directory packet and generates a directory stream, including at least a portion of the directory packet, and couples the directory stream through the network to a first client terminal. The first client terminal receives the directory stream and selectively identifies the directory packet according to a client profile, and subsequently communicates an audio file request through the network, requesting the digital audio file from the network audio server. Then, upon receipt of the audio file request, the audio server responds by coupling the digital audio file to the client terminal through the network.

A method is disclosed for carrying out network device provisioning and configuration, and communication of other information to a network device, automatically and in an assured manner. A configuration service receives a request from a network device to provide configuration information. The configuration service retrieves a template representing the configuration from a storage location, e.g., a directory service. The configuration service also retrieves one or more parameter values specific to the device. Device-specific values are instantiated for the generic parameters in the template, based on the retrieved values. The resulting configuration is stored in XML format using XML tags to delimit configuration commands, tested for well-formed-ness, and syntax checked. A reliable transport protocol carries the configuration information to the device. At the device, a configuration agent syntax checks the embedded configuration information, and then applies the configuration information to the device. As a result, automatic network provisioning may be accomplished remotely, without requiring a skilled technician to visit customer premises to carry out configuration. The process may be integrated with an event service to enable multiple devices to concurrently receive re-configuration without special synchronization logic.

An approach for providing an electronic business directory (e.g., Digital Yellow Pages) with interactive services over an electronic consumer device. The device includes means for retrieving information from a remote database storing business directory listings and advertisements, wherein the remote database is accessed over a data network (e.g., the global Internet) and is capable of being modified directly by a business listed in the directory or by an agent of the business. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the device also includes a touch screen display for displaying the information and for receiving input relating to the retrieved information associated with the interactive services.

The present invention is a method and system for an online reservation system providing services of multiple categories of service providers. A user may enter the online reservation system by clicking on a button either embedded in a directory services search result for a particular service provider or located on a particular service provider's website. Alternatively, a user may search for service providers through the online reservation system by entering criteria such as category of service, pricing, rating, location, or time and day of availability of the service. Both users and service providers receive electronic confirmation and reminders for the booked appointments.Service providers may integrate all of their appointments with a calendar maintained by the online reservation system. The system automatically collects client data and may provide accounting services.

A method for an email voice reader capable of adapting gender and emotions of a sender, the method comprising: sending email data by the sender via a directory service, the directory service storing a plurality of attributes of the email data, the plurality of attributes being pre-selected by the sender; receiving the email data by a recipient; enabling the recipient to listen to the email data via the email voice reader, the email data including the plurality of attributes pre-selected by the sender and stored at the directory service; and automatically identifying the gender of the sender by allowing the sender to specify and add a first attribute to the plurality of attributes stored at the directory service, wherein the email voice reader of the recipient automatically recognizes whether to apply a male voice or a female voice based on the added first attribute.

A method of associating a content object with metadata uses a combination of a content identifier and a bounding identifier to enable handling of disparate sets of content identifiers for content objects with potentially conflicting content identifiers. The method receives a content identifier for a content object from among a set of content identifiers. It provides a unique bounding identifier for the set of content identifiers. This unique bounding identifier is used in combination with the content identifier to form a globally unique identifier for the content object. This globally unique identifier is associated with a metadata source, which enables routing of a user to the metadata source. Another novel method addresses content objects with two or more content identifiers, potentially referencing different metadata sources. This method registers different globally unique identifiers for a content object. These globally unique identifiers each comprise a content identifier provided with the content object and a bounding identifier identifying a set of content identifiers of which the content identifier is a member. For each of the globally unique identifiers, information is maintained about a metadata source. The method receives a first content identifier for the content object, and uses a bounding identifier associated with the set of the first content identifier to determine the globally unique identifier for the first content identifier. The user is routed to the metadata source associated with globally unique identifier. This document describes a novel system that enables multiple identity providers (ID Providers) to register and use the system. The ID Provider registers with a metadata directory system, receives a unique bounding identifier, and uses this bounding ID (e.g., an ID provider ID) with subsequent interactions with the metadata directory system. Separately, metadata source providers register metadata sources with the metadata directory system. This enables many different participants to associate content objects with metadata sources using one or more identify providers. Examples of metadata source providers include content providers, like content owners or retailers that have the flexibility of working with different ID providers to associate content objects with metadata. Both content providers and ID providers can register and use the system. The metadata source is the system or device that provides the metadata, like a web site. The directory system uses an identifier for the metadata source, which enables it to maintain an association between a content object and its corresponding metadata source. For example, in some embodiments, a URL serves to identify the location of the source. The Content Metadata Directory Services (CMDS) is a global trusted directory service that connects consumers of identified content to content-provider authorized and managed metadata databases and other digital resources. It includes mostly links to metadata, forms globally unique IDs based upon overlapping content identifiers and unique bounding identifiers, enables multiple content identifiers within a content object, and enables multiple content identity technology providers, even when they are using different technology.

A system is provide for extending services to cellular devices. The system includes a wireless gateway having a client side with an intelligent client agent and a server side with an intelligent server agent, a wireless device having a first mode operable in a cellular system and a second mode operable in a wireless local area network and including an intelligent client agent for determining operation mode and for communicating with the intelligent client agent of the wireless gateway and a communications protocol for communication between the wireless gateway intelligent client agent and the wireless device intelligent client agent to effect services. The services include one or more of voice, directory, presence, and media services. The voice service includes at least one of call waiting, call forwarding conferencing, and caller identification. The media service includes at least one of interactive voice response (IVR), text-to-speech, speech recognition, play, record. The directory service includes a public switched telephone network (PSTN) directory, a cellular network directory, an Internet directory and a private branch exchange (PBX) directory. The communications protocol includes encapsulation for at least one of directory, mobility and security services and other protocols. The other protocols include at least one of Internet protocol (IP), session initiation protocol (SIP), and lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP).

In an enterprise server environment having a uniform resource locator (URL) access management and control system. The server includes a user authentication logic to authenticate users attempting to connect to the server to access URL file and directories residing in the server. In one embodiment of the present invention, the user is provided with an identification token and a user URL access policy which allows the user's credentials to be validated and permitted access to a list of URLs in the directory server. In one embodiment of the present invention, a URL access enforcement logic uses the user's URL access policy to determine which URLs in the directory server a user may or may not access. The user's URL access policy may include an access deny or an access allow value which respectively denies or allows the user access to particular URL.

The present inventions provide an integrated, modular array of administrative and support services for electronic commerce and electronic rights and transaction management. These administrative and support services supply a secure foundation for conducting financial management, rights management, certificate authority, rules clearing, usage clearing, secure directory services, and other transaction related capabilities functioning over a vast electronic network such as the Internet and / or over organization internal Intranets.These administrative and support services can be adapted to the specific needs of electronic commerce value chains. Electronic commerce participants can use these administrative and support services to support their interests, and can shape and reuse these services in response to competitive business realities.A Distributed Commerce Utility having a secure, programmable, distributed architecture provides administrative and support services. The Distributed Commerce Utility makes optimally efficient use of commerce administration resources, and can scale in a practical fashion to accommodate the demands of electronic commerce growth.The Distributed Commerce Utility may comprise a number of Commerce Utility Systems. These Commerce Utility Systems provide a web of infrastructure support available to, and reusable by, the entire electronic community and / or many or all of its participants.Different support functions can be collected together in hierarchical and / or in networked relationships to suit various business models and / or other objectives. Modular support functions can combined in different arrays to form different Commerce Utility Systems for different design implementations and purposes. These Commerce Utility Systems can be distributed across a large number of electronic appliances with varying degrees of distribution.

A messaging system (1) has a provisioning server (2), an application server (3), a notification server (4), a mail server (7), and a voice / video server (8) which act as clients toward an LDAP directory server (5). A proxy (“DAP”, 6) performs high speed write operations on a subset of attributes which it determines to be dynamic attributes. LDAP client requests that do not involve dynamic attributes are forwarded to the directory server (5) in a conventional manner. The proxy (6) also joins the results of requests that have both high-speed dynamic attributes as well as “static” attributes that are stored in a directory server (5). “Intelligent” services that involve maintaining dynamic attributes for large number of subscribers in a distributed environment can be deployed.

Individuals and groups of individuals, such as corporations, are provided access to one or more private directories. The private directories can be edited by an administrator. Access to the private directories may be limited by administrators of the private directories. Access to private directories is provided via a connection to directory assistance providers. Directory service providers are capable of facilitating the administration of the private directories as well as connecting users of private directories to contacts in the private directories. Access to the private directory may be obtained via an internet connection.

A method and system for backing up and restoring data of virtual machines. A virtual machine may be discovered through a directory service or via an agent that is installed on the host operating system that is running the virtual machine. If the agent is installed on the virtual machine, the agent monitors changes to a set of protected volumes on the virtual machine. If the agent is installed on the host, the agent monitors changes to the protected volumes, which may contain one or more virtual servers on the host. Periodically, these changes from the host or the virtual server are sent to a data protection server. The data protection server updates its replicas of protected volumes with the sent changes. Versions of files on a data protection server corresponding to a volume of a virtual server may be restored to the virtual machine, to another machine, or may be viewed from the data protection server.

Apparatus and methods for distributing access control clients. In one exemplary embodiment, a network infrastructure is disclosed that enables delivery of electronic subscriber identity modules (eSIMs) to secure elements (e.g., electronic Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (eUICCs), etc.) The network architecture includes one or more of: (i) eSIM appliances, (ii) secure eSIM storages, (iii) eSIM managers, (iv) eUICC appliances, (v) eUICC managers, (vi) service provider consoles, (vii) account managers, (viii) Mobile Network Operator (MNO) systems, (ix) eUICCs that are local to one or more devices, and (x) depots. Moreover, each depot may include: (xi) eSIM inventory managers, (xii) system directory services, (xiii) communications managers, and / or (xiv) pending eSIM storages. Functions of the disclosed infrastructure can be flexibly partitioned and / or adapted such that individual parties can host portions of the infrastructure. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention can provide redundancy, thus ensuring maximal uptime for the overall network (or the portion thereof).

Synchronizing content description data between devices on an ad hoc peer-to-peer network involves storing a plurality of data entries on a directory server. Each data entry describes one or more multimedia data objects accessible via the network. A synchronization object of the directory server is associated with the data entries. The synchronization object is capable of describing changes to the data entries. The data entries are downloaded from the directory server to a cache of a control point device via the network. The synchronization object of the directory server is changed in response to a change in at least one of the data entries of the directory server. The cache of the control point device is updated with the change in the at least one data entry based on the changing of the synchronization object of the directory server.

A system and method of performing device detection and service discovery in a mobile ad hoc communications network, each network node storing a local application directory. One of the network nodes is selected to be a directory server node that stores a combined application directory. The directory server node sends an inquiry message to a listening node when the listening node enters the coverage area of the directory server node. The listening node sends a notification message to the directory server node that includes the local application directory stored in the listening node. The directory server node compares the received local application directory to the combined application directory and updates the combined application directory accordingly. The directory server node sends an update message to each network node by sending an update portion of the combined application directory. Each network node updates the local application directories accordingly.

An interface layer, also referred to as a synchronization-CDS bridge, automatically provides a first set of update information to a Content Directory Service (CDS) regarding any content received by a first media server during a data synchronization process. The interface layer also provides a second set of update information to a synchronization application regarding any content newly added to the first media server subsequent to a last data synchronization. The interface layer discovers the second set of update information provided to the synchronization application from the CDS. The second set of update information is used by the synchronization application to select the newly added content during a next data synchronization.

A method, apparatus and computer program product for updating data for an application, including invoking a client application; identifying an application having data to be updated; and sending a query to a directory server via the client application, the query identifying the data.

A technique for performing query evaluation on distributed directories utilizes the creation of a “topology cache” defining the hierarchical relationship between the various directory servers (i.e., identifying “subordinate” and “superior” knowledge references associated with each directory server in the system). The created topology cache is then stored at each directory server, and forwarded to a client upon submitting a query to the system. Using the topology cache information at the client, a distributed query evaluation plan can be developed for use with complex queries, such as hierarchical and aggregate queries.

Methods and systems for providing directory services for peer-to-peer systems and applications are provided. Example embodiments provide a Peer-to-Peer Directory System (“PPDS”), which enables applications, especially those using peer-to-peer technology that desire to communicate directly with one another on different peer computer systems, to automatically discover working (current) network addresses for each other even when the network addresses of their respective computer systems change dynamically. The PPDS provides a community-based tracking system, a portion of which is implemented on each computer system that is a member of the community, to mutually track and store the network addresses of the other computer systems to which it has an associated relationship. The PPDS also provides a query mechanism that takes advantage of the relationship paths between the various computer systems to search for a current network address of a designated computer system.

A method, system, computer program product, and devices for enterprise network access control and management for Government and Corporate entities, including interagency identity management; connectors and controls; an interagency directory services transformation service; a user / duty position resolving service; role-based encryption key management; role-based business process modeling; and proximity-based access control enabled by user-role-track association.

A method and system for searching for software agents or directory service agents in a distributed environment. The system employs a plurality of host computers that include software agents and / or directory service agents and that are connected to a network. The method as invoked at one of the host computers searches for other agents with a recursive search that enables one agent to locate other agents that match a given criteria. The recursive search may use cross-listed directory services, negotiated cross-listings and economic considerations.