Abstract: A system and method for expediting the replication of at least one specified object to a replica in a distributed computer system. A source object of a source replica determines that it has an urgent change to propagate through the distributed system, and informs a replication facility at the source replica of the urgent change. The facility extracts, or is provided with, the change information from that object, and the source replica communicates information representative of the change to a destination replica. A replication facility at the destination replica provides the change information to a destination replica object, which uses the information to make itself consistent with the source replica object.

Abstract: A software licensing system includes a license generator located at a licensing clearinghouse and at least one license server and multiple clients located at a company or entity. When a company wants a software license, it sends a purchase request (and appropriate fee) to the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator at the clearinghouse creates a license pack containing a set of one or more individual software licenses. The license generator digitally signs the license pack and encrypts it with the license server's public key. The license server is responsible for distributing the software licenses from the license pack to individual clients. When a client needs a license, the license server determines the client's operating system platform and grants the appropriate license. The license server digitally signs the software license and encrypts it using the client's public key. The license is stored locally at the client.

Abstract: A system and method for expediting the replication of at least one specified object to a replica in a distributed computer system. A source object of a source replica determines that it has an urgent change to propagate through the distributed system, and informs a replication facility at the source replica of the urgent change. The facility extracts, or is provided with, the change information from that object, and the source replica communicates information representative of the change to a destination replica. A replication facility at the destination replica provides the change information to a destination replica object, which uses the information to make itself consistent with the source replica object.

Abstract: A system and method for expediting the replication of at least one specified object to a replica in a distributed computer system. A source object of a source replica determines that it has an urgent change to propagate through the distributed system, and informs a replication facility at the source replica of the urgent change. The facility extracts, or is provided with, the change information from that object, and the source replica communicates information representative of the change to a destination replica. A replication facility at the destination replica provides the change information to a destination replica object, which uses the information to make itself consistent with the source replica object.

Abstract: A system and method for expediting the replication of at least one specified object to a replica in a distributed computer system. A source object of a source replica determines that it has an urgent change to propagate through the distributed system, and informs a replication facility at the source replica of the urgent change. The facility extracts, or is provided with, the change information from that object, and the source replica communicates information representative of the change to a destination replica. A replication facility at the destination replica provides the change information to a destination replica object, which uses the information to make itself consistent with the source replica object.

Abstract: A software licensing system includes a license generator located at a licensing clearinghouse and at least one license server and multiple clients located at a company or entity. When a company wants a software license, it sends a purchase request (and appropriate fee) to the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator at the clearinghouse creates a license pack containing a set of one or more individual software licenses. To prevent the license pack from being copied and installed on multiple license servers, the license generator assigns a unique license pack ID to the license pack and associates the license pack ID with the particular license server in a master license database kept at the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator digitally signs the license pack and encrypts it with the license server's public key. The license server is responsible for distributing the software licenses from the license pack to individual clients.

Abstract: A system and method for expediting the replication of at least one specified object to a replica in a distributed computer system. A source object of a source replica determines that it has an urgent change to propagate through the distributed system, and informs a replication facility at the source replica of the urgent change. The facility extracts, or is provided with, the change information from that object, and the source replica communicates information representative of the change to a destination replica. A replication facility at the destination replica provides the change information to a destination replica object, which uses the information to make itself consistent with the source replica object.

Abstract: A system and method for expediting the replication of at least one specified object to a replica in a distributed computer system. A source object of a source replica determines that it has an urgent change to propagate through the distributed system, and informs a replication facility at the source replica of the urgent change. The facility extracts, or is provided with, the change information from that object, and the source replica communicates information representative of the change to a destination replica. A replication facility at the destination replica provides the change information to a destination replica object, which uses the information to make itself consistent with the source replica object.

Abstract: An authentication system for a distributed network having multiple clients and a server enables a user to log on at any one of the clients with a password and receive his/her associated public/private key pair. The client computes a hash of the user ID to produce a first hash value H(ID) and a hash of the user ID concatenated with the user password P to produce a second hash value H(ID/P). The client constructs a message M containing the hash value H(ID), the hash value H(ID/P), and a randomly generated session key SK. The client encrypts the message M using the server's public key and sends the encrypted message to the server. The server decrypts the message using its private key to recover the message M. The server initially checks to see if the hash values are subject to a hostile cryptographic attack. If the check is negative, the server generates key source material S as a function of the hash value H(ID), the hash value H(ID/P), and a private value that is confidential to the server.

Abstract: A software licensing system includes a license generator located at a licensing clearinghouse and at least one license server and multiple clients located at a company or entity. When a company wants a software license, it sends a purchase request (and appropriate fee) to the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator at the clearinghouse creates a license pack containing a set of one or more individual software licenses. To prevent the license pack from being copied and installed on multiple license servers, the license generator assigns a unique license pack ID to the license pack and associates the license pack ID with the particular license server in a master license database kept at the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator digitally signs the license pack and encrypts it with the license server's public key. The license server is responsible for distributing the software licenses from the license pack to individual clients.

Abstract: A software system unifies directory services with the file system. Directory service entries and other files are all stored in a common logical format, such as an object format. The unification of files with directory service entries allows a common set of tools to operate on both such entities and allows a common name space to be utilized. Security measures are taken so as to prevent unauthorized access to the directory service entries.

Abstract: Logon certificates are provided to support disconnected operation within the distributed system. Each logon certificate is a secure package holding credentials information sufficient to establish the identity and rights and privileges for a user/machine in a domain that is not their home domain. When a user/machine attempts to connect to the system at a domain other than the home domain of the user/machine, the user/machine presents a logon certificate that evidences his credentials. The domain where the user/machine attempts to connect to the system, decrypts and unseals the secure package as required to obtain the credentials information contained therein. If the user/machine has sufficient credentials, the user/machine is permitted to connect to the system. If the user/machine lacks sufficient credentials, the user/machine is not permitted to connect to the system.

Abstract: A network directory and naming service include fields for identifying instances of network resources and other objects by both logical and topological grouping. This combination of information facilitates automated efficient decision making with regard to replication of resources and updating the replicas in response to changes. The combination of logical and topological identification for resources also facilitates selection of a close replica in instances where a client requests access to a resource, such as a server, for which communicatively local and remote instances exist.

Abstract: A method and system for transparently executing code using a surrogate process is provided. In a preferred embodiment, the underlying system provides a surrogate program that can execute server dynamic-link libraries. When a client program wishes to access an object of a sharable class or a class factory object, the client program requests a service control manager to execute the server code for the sharable class. In response, the service control manager determines from a registration database whether the server code is available in the form of a server executable or a server dynamic-link library.

Abstract: A method is provided, in accordance with the present invention, for merging a source domain into a target domain in a network. Merging domains comprises replacing a first account identification for each account associated with the source domain by a second account identification associated with the target domain. Next, in accordance with the present invention, for each account associated with the source domain, the first account identification is added to an account security data structure storing account identifications with which the account has previously been associated when associated with a former, merged domain.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling access to entities on a network on which a plurality of servers are installed that use different operating systems. A request is entered by a user at a workstation on the network to set access permissions to an entity on the network in regard to a trustee. In response to the request, various application programming interfaces (APIs) are called to translate the generic request to set permissions on the entity into a format appropriate for the operating system that controls the entity. Assuming that the user has the appropriate rights to set access permissions to the entity as requested, and assuming that the trustee identified by the user is among those who can have rights set to the entity, the request made by the user is granted. Entities include both "containers" and "objects." Entities are either software, such as directories (containers) and files (objects), or hardware, such as printers (objects).

Abstract: Logon certificates are provided to support disconnected operation within the distributed system. Each logon certificate is a secure package holding credentials information sufficient to establish the identity and rights and privileges for a user/machine in a domain that is not their home domain. When a user/machine attempts to connect to the system at a domain other than the home domain of the user/machine, the user/machine presents a logon certificate that evidences his credentials. The domain where the user/machine attempts to connect to the system, decrypts and unseals the secure package as required to obtain the credentials information contained therein. If the user/machine has sufficient credentials, the user/machine is permitted to connect to the system. If the user/machine lacks sufficient credentials, the user/machine is not permitted to connect to the system.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are described for facilitating the migration of accounts from a source domain to a target domain in a computer network without affecting the capability of users and services associated with the source domain to access source domain resources after the users' and services' accounts have been migrated to the target domain. Migrating source domain accounts is facilitated by a dual-identity Domain Controller having simultaneous access to replicating mechanisms of both the source domain and the target domain. When accounts are migrated to a directory service of objects for the target domain, the accounts are modified to include security information defining access rights of the migrated accounts within the target domain. Security information relating to an account's access rights in the source domain is preserved in the migrated account stored in the target domain directory service of objects databases.

Abstract: A software system unifies directory services with the file system. Directory service entries and other files are all stored in a common logical format, such as an object format. The unification of files with directory service entries allows a common set of tools to operate on both such entities and allows a common name space to be utilized. Security measures are taken so as to prevent unauthorized access to the directory service entries.

Abstract: A software system unifies directory services with the file system. Directory service entries and other files are all stored in a common logical format, such as an object format. The unification of files with directory service entries allows a common set of tools to operate on both such entities and allows a common name space to be utilized. Security measures are taken so as to prevent unauthorized access to the directory service entries.