Russell W Greer

US Patent:

6606663, Aug 12, 2003

Filed:

Sep 29, 1998

Appl. No.:

09/163050

Inventors:

Hanqing Liao - San Ramon CA
Peter F. King - Half Moon Bay CA
Russell S. Greer - Los Gatos CA

Assignee:

Openwave Systems Inc. - Redwood City CA

International Classification:

G06F 1516

US Classification:

709229, 705 25, 713201

Abstract:

A credential caching proxy server that handles credential caching for a set of wireless client devices is disclosed. The credential caching proxy server handles most credential transactions for wireless client devices that wish to access resources within a protected realm where the protected realm requires credentials. In one embodiment, the credential caching proxy server intercepts and caches a wireless clients credentials when a credential is first sent from the wireless user agent to a protected server. The cached credential will then be used for all requests to resources within the same protected realm. Thus, after first sending a first credential for accessing the resource in a particular realm, the wireless user agent does not need to attach the credential for all the subsequent requests for any other resources belong to the same realm. In an alternate embodiment, the proxy server sends a special request to the wireless client device requesting a credential for a particular resource. The special request may take the form of a simple preformatted display page such that a âdumb terminalâ wireless client device can be used to communicate with protected Internet resources even though the âdumbâ wireless client device has no concept of authentication and authorization.