Archetype Policy Access Control for Large Datasets

The patent combines multiple individual access control policies into a single archetype policy that represents a class of similar policies. Instead of evaluating each record against its own unique policy, the system evaluates user access once against the archetype policy, then applies the result to multiple records simultaneously. This merging approach maintains access control precision while dramatically reducing processing time for large datasets.

The archetype policy serves as a universal access control mechanism that can govern multiple records with similar access requirements. Rather than creating specialized policies for each record, the system uses a single multi-functional archetype policy that can be applied across entire datasets or subsets of records, reducing computational overhead while maintaining appropriate access control.

The patent segments access control policies into hierarchical levels: archetype policies that govern classes of records and more specific policies for individual records when needed. This segmentation allows the system to apply coarse-grained archetype policies to most records for high performance, while maintaining the ability to apply fine-grained control to specific records when security requirements demand it.

The system applies access control evaluation partially rather than completely to every record. By using archetype policies, the system performs access control evaluation on a representative subset (the archetype) rather than every individual record, achieving sufficient security coverage with reduced computational effort. This partial action approach maintains security for the majority of records while improving overall system performance.