Patent Publication Number: US-9853963-B2

Title: Authorization server, authentication cooperation system, and storage medium storing program

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an authorization server, an authentication cooperation system between a service of cloud services, for example, and a local service, and a storage medium storing a program. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     In recent years, cloud computing services (or cloud services) which make a server open to the Internet to provide services to a client have gathered attention. Fundamentally, a cloud computing service may distribute and execute data conversion and data processing by using many computing resources and process requests from many clients in parallel by performing distributed parallel processing. Presently, there are so many venders each of which implements a Web service on a cloud computing service environment for realizing a cloud computing service as described above, resulting in a wide variety of services provided on the Web. In developing a cloud service, many services which have already been provided on the web may be effectively used to provide a new function so that advantages can be gained with respect to development speed and development costs. On the other hand, in the past, a carrier, for example, may possess its own servers and so on and operate many ON-premise systems. Transferring all internal systems to a cloud service together may be difficult. Hence, partial ON-premise systems may be transferred to a cloud service in stepwise manner. As a result, an increased number of users may utilize both of an ON-premise service and a cloud service in cooperation with each other. See PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2015-518198. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     When an ON-premise service and a cloud service in cooperation are used, Single Sign On (hereinafter, also called SSO) strongly desirable because local authentication (such as LDAP) as in a conventional ON-premise system and a cloud authentication are different. According to a conventional technology, a local authentication of an ON-premise system may be synchronized with a local authentication service constructed in a cloud service so that a login to a login service of both of the cloud service and the ON-premise system can start a user ID provisioning. This, for example, may start management including generation and maintenance of information regarding a user account such as a user ID. After that, when a user uses a VPN to log in the local authentication service for the cloud service, the user can log in the cloud service with credential information associated with the user. 
     However, one disadvantage relates to user-ID provisioning for all users to be required for cooperation between a local authentication and a cloud service authentication. Because maintenance of the user-ID provisioning is required every time the number of users increases or decreases, this increases operational costs for the user management. 
     Aspects of the present invention were made in view of the conventional examples as described above. Aspects of the present invention provide an authorization server, an authentication cooperation system, and a storage medium storing a program, which can eliminate necessity for user-ID provisioning between a local authentication and a cloud service authentication. 
     One aspect of the present invention can also reduce operational loads because ID provisioning between a local authentication and a cloud service authentication is not necessary. 
     An exemplary embodiment has the following configurations. 
     An aspect of the present invention provides an authorization server including a unit configured to, in a case where a client is authenticated successfully on basis of client information in response to an authorization token generation request, transmit an authorization token to the client and generate and store authorization token information by associating local user information received along with the authorization token generation request with the authorization token, and a responding unit configured to receive an authorization token verification request including the authorization token from an application server having received a processing request along with the authorization token from the client, and, in a case where the authorization token is verified successfully on basis of the received authorization token and the authorization token information, transmit the local user information included in the authorization token information to the application server. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides an application server including a unit configured to store a local authentication cooperation mode for each tenant, a unit configured to transmit an authorization token verification request to an authorization server when the unit receives a processing request along with an authorization token from a client and receive authorization token information including local user information associated with the authorization token as a response as a result of a success of the authorization token verification request, and a processing unit configured to process the processing request for a user described in the local user information or for the client. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides an authentication cooperation system including an authorization server including a unit configured to, in a case where a client is authenticated successfully on basis of client information in response to an authorization token generation request, transmit an authorization token to the client and generate and store authorization token information by associating local user information received along with the authorization token generation request with the authorization token. A responding unit is configured to receive an authorization token verification request including the authorization token from an application server having received a processing request along with the authorization token from the client, and, in a case where the authorization token is verified successfully on basis of the received authorization token and the authorization token information, transmit the local user information included in the authorization token information to the application server. An application server has a unit configured to transmit the authorization token verification request to the authorization server when the unit receives a processing request along with the authorization token from a client and receive the authorization token information including the local user information associated with the authorization token as a response as a result of a success of the authorization token verification request. A processing unit is configured to process the processing request for a user described in the local user information or for the client. 
     Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a system configuration diagram. 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate hardware configuration diagrams of apparatuses. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a table structure managed in a local authentication server. 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate table structures managed in a business server. 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate table structures managed in an authorization server. 
         FIGS. 6A to 6C  illustrate table structures managed in a form server. 
         FIGS. 7A to 7C  illustrate table structures managed in a data conversion server. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a table structure managed in a storage server. 
         FIGS. 9A to 9C  illustrate a screen example of a mobile terminal. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a flow for generating a business form SVG. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a flow for issuing an authorization token. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates a flow for using an authorization token. 
         FIG. 13  is a software configuration diagram of apparatuses. 
         FIG. 14  is a sequence diagram illustrating in time-series the flow for generating a business form SVG. 
         FIG. 15  is a sequence diagram illustrating in time-series the flow for generating a business form SVG. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to drawings. 
     First Exemplary Embodiment 
     System Configuration 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an overall configuration of a mobile printing system including an authentication cooperation system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , one or a plurality of mobile terminals  102  is connected to a local network  101 . The mobile terminal  102  is capable of accessing the internet  100  through the local network  101  to access servers  104  to  109 . The mobile terminal  102  is connected to the network through a wired or wireless LAN. This exemplary embodiment assumes that the mobile terminal  102  is connected to the network through a wireless LAN access point  103  but also includes a case where the mobile terminal  102  is connected through a wireless network provided by a mobile data communication carrier. The wireless LAN access point  103  is a wireless LAN base unit having a general network router function and provides a wireless LAN domestically or within an office. The mobile terminal may sometimes be called a client terminal, a client, or a terminal. 
     Each of security domains  110  to  112  indicates a user accessible, authenticated and authorized range, and an authenticated and authorized user or an authorization token is not allowed to be used beyond such a security domain. In other words, the security domain may refer to an effective range of authentication or authorization. A local authentication security domain  110  indicates a user accessible range authenticated by the local authentication server  104 , and a business server  105  belongs to the local authentication security domain  110 . A business form service security domain  111  indicates a range accessible by using an authorization token issued by an authorization server  106 , and a form server  107  and a data conversion server  108  belong to the business form service security domain  111 . A storage service security domain  112  indicates a range accessible by using an authorization token issued by a storage service security domain authorization server, not illustrated, and a storage server  109  belongs to the storage service security domain  112 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , the local authentication security domain  110  corresponds to an ON-premise system, and the business form service security domain  111  and storage service security domain  112  correspond to a cloud system. 
     The local authentication server  104  is a server for execution of user authentication for access to the business server  105 . A user is allowed to access to the business server  105  if he or she is authenticated by the local authentication server  104 . LDAP may often be used as a local authentication method, but a simple authentication method only including confirmation of matching of a user name, a password, and a domain may be used according to this exemplary embodiment. However, this is given for illustration purpose only. The invention according to this exemplary embodiment is also applicable to another authentication method in which user authentication is performed by using unique authentication information of a user. 
     The business server  105  is a server configured to manage user work information. This exemplary embodiment assumes a use case where products for sale are managed client by client in the business server  105  so that the information in the business server  105  may be used by a salesperson for sales work. The business server  105  provides screens for displaying and editing user work information in response to a request from the mobile terminal  102 . The authorization server  106  is a server for implementing OAuth and is configured to manage client information and issue and manage an authorization token. The form server  107  is a server configured to receive user work information from the business server  105  and manages a business form PDF generated by reflecting the user work information to a form template. The form server  107  requests the data conversion server  108  to convert the generated business form PDF to a business form SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics). The data conversion server  108  is a server configured to receive a request for the business form SVG conversion from the form server  107  and data-convert and manage a business form PDF to a business form SVG. The storage server  109  is a server configured to perform file management and receive file upload/download from the mobile terminal  102 , the form server  107 , and the data conversion server  108 . OAuth is a mechanism for safely receiving and transmitting (or transferring) a user authorization under an agreement of the user as a precondition, and the authorization server  106  is a server realizing the mechanism. According to OAuth, for example, all or a part of user&#39;s rights authorized by a first server are transferred to a second server so that the second server can receive a service provided by the first server within the range or scope of the transferred user&#39;s rights. According to OAuth, a user is not required to inform the second server of his or her authentication information for logging in the first server. 
     Servers including the servers  106  to  109  are open to the Internet as those providing cloud services being redundant with a plurality of servers, but each of them is illustrated as one server here for simple illustration of this exemplary embodiment. The local authentication server  104  and the business server  105  are redundant with a plurality of servers, but each of them is illustrated as one server for simple illustration of this exemplary embodiment. Among servers providing cloud services, servers providing applications to clients, excluding the authorization server  106  and the storage server  109 , may sometimes be called collectively as an application server. 
     Hardware Configuration of Mobile Terminal  102   
       FIG. 2A  is a hardware configuration diagram of the mobile terminal  102 . The illustrated hardware components are connected to a system bus  202 . A ROM  204  stores an operating system (OS) and applications for controlling phone calls and data communications which are executed by a CPU  203 . Such an application for controlling data communication may be e-mail software or a Web browser, for example. The RAM  205  is a work memory area for execution of a program therein. The RAM  205  also functions as memory for temporarily store authentication information for accessing Web page data or a Web service acquired from a Web server by a Web browser. A storage device  210  is a nonvolatile storage device and is configured to store operation mode settings and operation logs which are required to be held after re-activation of the mobile terminal. A network controller  206  is configured to perform communication control over a wireless-LAN communication unit  212  and a cellular-phone data communication unit  213  for participating in a network provided by a cellular phone service carrier. Generally, when participation in a wireless LAN network is allowed, the network controller  206  gives priority to a wireless LAN connection. When the mobile terminal is off the wireless LAN network area, the mobile terminal participates in a wireless communication network provided by a cellular phone service carrier. An audio control unit  207  may be used mainly while a user is calling by activating a phone call application. A microphone/speaker  214  is used to input/output audio data, and the audio control unit  207  intercedes with a control program therefor. A display control unit  208  is configured to control information output by a display  215  of the mobile terminal. An input control unit  209  is configured to control information designated by a user by using a button or a touch panel  216  of the mobile terminal. These audio control unit  207 , display control unit  208 , and input control unit  209  may be used so that an application on the mobile terminal can provide a user with network communication information and various information regarding the mobile terminal. A position-detection control unit  211  acquires positional information regarding the mobile terminal from a GPS sensor  217  and provides it to an OS. These units are controlled by an OS running on the CPU  203 . 
     Hardware Configuration of Server 
       FIG. 2B  illustrates an example hardware configuration of each of the servers  104  to  109 . The present invention according to this exemplary embodiment is applicable to either single apparatus or system including a plurality of apparatuses if functionality of the invention of this exemplary embodiment is executable unless otherwise specified. Aspects of the present invention are also applicable to a system including apparatuses connected over a network such as a LAN or a WAN for performing processing functionality of the invention of this exemplary embodiment is executable unless otherwise specified. This exemplary embodiment will be described by assuming that the components are connected through a system bus  219 . 
     A CPU  220  is a control device for an image processing apparatus and is configured to execute an application program, a print driver program, an operating system, and a mobile printing system program according to the present invention, which are stored in the storage device  226 . The CPU  220  controls to temporarily store in the RAM  222  information and files, for example, required for program execution. The CPU  220  may open various registered windows in response to a command given by using, for example, a mouse cursor, not illustrated, on the display  227  and execute various kinds of data processing. A ROM  221  is a ROM configured to store fixed information and internally store programs such as a basic I/O program and font data, template data, and other various kinds of data usable for document processing. A RAM  222  is a RAM configured to temporarily store information and functions as a main memory and a work area for the CPU  220 . A display control unit  224  is configured to control information output on a display  227 . An input control unit  225  is configured to control information input through a keyboard  228 , and an image processing apparatus can exchange data with an external apparatus through the input control unit  225 . A storage device  226  is one of external storages, functions as a large volume memory and stores an application program, a print driver program, an OS and so on. The keyboard  228  is an instruction input unit usable by a user to input an instruction to a server. The display  227  is a display unit configured to display a command input through the keyboard  228 , for example. 
     Software Configuration of Mobile Terminal  102   
     Software configurations of the mobile terminal  102  and the servers will be described with reference to  FIG. 13 . A browser application (also called a Web browser)  1021  is installed in the  1021 . The browser application  1021  installed in the mobile terminal  102  is stored in the storage device  210  illustrated in  FIG. 2A  and is loaded to the RAM  205  and is executed by the CPU  203 . A user may operate a screen displayed on the display  215  of the mobile terminal  102  by using the browser application  1021  to request the servers  105  to  109 . The browser application  1021  is capable of analyzing and displaying a screen showing HTML data and SVG data from the business server  105 , the form server  107 , and the storage server  109 .  FIGS. 9A to 9C , which will be described below, illustrate example screens to be displayed on the display  215  of the mobile terminal  102  by the browser application  1021 . Various applications excluding such a browser application may be installed in the mobile terminal  102 . According to this exemplary embodiment, the browser application  1021  is only used. For that, the browser application  1021  will also be handled as the mobile terminal  102 . 
     Software Configuration of Local Authentication Server  104   
     The local authentication server  104  has an authentication interface (I/F)  1041 , an authentication information management unit  1042 , and a storage storing local authentication information  300 . Software modules are stored in the storage device  226  illustrated in  FIG. 2B  and are loaded to the RAM  222  and are executed by the CPU  220  as described above. The authentication I/F  1041  provides an interface to the local authentication server  104  and verifies validity of received information. The authentication information management unit  1042  manages the local authentication information  300  illustrated in  FIG. 3  and responds failure or success of the user authentication in response to a request received by the authentication I/F  1041 . 
     Software Configuration of Business Server  105   
     The business server  105  has a Web server  1051 , a work information management unit  1052 , and a storage storing client information  400  and template information  410 . Software modules are stored in the storage device  226  illustrated in  FIG. 2B , are loaded to the RAM  222 , and are executed by the CPU  220  as described above. The Web server  1051  provides interfaces for the business server  105  and verifies validity of received information, which is then authenticated by the local authentication server  104 . The work information management unit  1052  manages the client information  400  and the template information  410  illustrated in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . The work information management unit  1052  may further respond work screens illustrated in  FIGS. 9A and 9B , which will be described below, to a request received by the Web server  1051 , receive a request for generating a business form, and request the form server  107  to generate a preview screen. 
     Software Configuration of Authorization Server  106   
     The authorization server  106  has a Web server  1061 , an authorization information management unit  1062 , and a storage storing client information  500  and authorization token information  510 . Software modules are stored in the storage device  226  illustrated in  FIG. 2B  and are loaded to the RAM  222  and are executed by the CPU  220 . The Web server  1061  provides interfaces for the authorization server  106  and verifies validity of received information. The authorization information management unit  1062  manages the client information  500  and authorization token information  510  illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B  and may issue an authorization token and check a scope and an expiration date in response to a request received by the Web server  1061 . 
     Software Configuration of Form Server  107   
     The form server  107  has a Web server  1071 , a business form generating unit  1072 , a form information management unit  1073 , and a storage storing template information  600 , preview information  610 , and tenant setting information  620 . Software modules are stored in the storage device  226  illustrated in  FIG. 2B  and are loaded to the RAM  222  and are executed by the CPU  220 . The Web server  1071  provides interfaces for the authorization server  107  and verifies validity of received information. The Web server  1071  may request authorization token verification or authorization token information acquisition to the authorization server  106 . The business form generating unit  1072  is configured to generate a business form PDF by reflecting work information received from the business server  105  to a template. The business form generating unit  1072  uploads the generated business form PDF to the storage server  109 . The form information management unit  1073  manages the template information  600 , preview information  610 , and tenant setting information  620  illustrated in  FIGS. 6A to 6C , and the business form generating unit  1072  generates a business form PDF in response to a preview generation request received by the Web server  1071  and requests the data conversion server  108  to generate a business form SVG. The storage stores information, as illustrated in  FIGS. 6A to 6C , held in the form server  107 . A tenant is a division unit of destinations to which a service resource is provided and based on which a user can use and manage a cloud service. A client is a user of a cloud service and operates as a client of a specific tenant. Based on one tenant, a plurality of clients can use a plurality of services. Thus, according to this exemplary embodiment, tenant management is not performed in the local authentication security domain  110  while tenant management is performed in the business form service (that is a cloud service) security domain  111 . 
     Software Configuration of Data Conversion Server  108   
     The data conversion server  108  has a Web server  1081 , a data conversion unit  1082 , a data conversion information management unit  1083 , and a storage storing document information  700 , data conversion information  710 , and tenant setting information  720 . Software modules are stored in the storage device  226  illustrated in  FIG. 2B , are loaded to the RAM  222  and are executed by the CPU  220 . The Web server  1081  provides interfaces for the data conversion server  108  and verifies validity of received information. The Web server  1081  may request authorization token verification or authorization token information acquisition to the authorization server  106 . The data conversion unit  1082  receives the business form PDF uploaded from the form server  107  to the storage server  109  and converts the business form PDF to a business form SVG. The data conversion unit  1082  uploads the generated business form SVG to the storage server  109 . The data conversion information management unit  1083  manages the document information  700 , data conversion information  710 , and tenant setting information  720  illustrated in  FIGS. 7A to 7C , and the data conversion unit  1082  generates a business form SVG in response to a business form SVG generation request received from the Web server  1081 . The storage stores information held in the data conversion server  108  illustrated in  FIGS. 7A to 7C . 
     Software Configuration of Storage Server  109   
     The storage server  109  has a Web server  1091 , a storage management unit  1092 , and a storage storing file property information  800 . Software modules are stored in the storage device  226  illustrated in  FIG. 2B , are loaded to the RAM  222 , and are executed by the CPU  220 . The Web server  1071  provides interfaces for the storage server  109  and verifies validity of received information. A storage authorization server, not illustrated, requests for authorization token verification. The storage management unit  1092  manages file property information  800  illustrated in  FIG. 8  and inputs/outputs a file requested to upload. The storage stores information held in the storage server  109  illustrated in  FIG. 8  and a file received by the storage server  109 . 
     Data Managed by Local Authentication Server  104   
       FIG. 3  illustrates a data table stored in a storage by the local authentication server  104 . Such a data table may be stored in another server communicatively connected to the Internet  100  or a local network  101  instead of a storage in the local authentication server  104 . The data table held in the local authentication server  104  includes local authentication information  300 . The local authentication information  300  in  FIG. 3  includes a domain name (domain identification information)  301 , a user name (user identification information)  302 , and a password  303  as user information of a user allowed to access the business server  105 . The local authentication server  104  authenticates a user if user authentication information input by the user subject to a local authentication is matched to user authentication information registered as the local authentication information  300 . The local authentication information  300  can be used locally within the authentication information local authentication security domain  110 . 
     Data Managed by Business Server  105   
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  are data tables stored by the business server  105  in a storage device. Such a data table may be stored in another server communicatively connected to the Internet  100  or a local network  101  instead of a storage device in the business server  105 . The data tables held in the business server  105  include the client information  400  and the template information  410 . The client information  400  in  FIG. 4A  is information to be used by the business server  105  for accessing the form server  107  and is issued by the authorization server  106 . A client ID  401  is identification information by which a client can be uniquely identified. A secret  402  is a password corresponding to the client ID  401 . A scope  403  is a character string describing a scope of a client&#39;s access right. Referring to the example illustrated in  FIG. 4A , a character string “SVG_Preview” may indicate that a preview request for SVG document data is included in the scope of the access right. The template information  410  in  FIG. 4B  includes a template ID  411  designated when the business server  105  issues a preview generation request to the form server  107 . The template ID  411  registered with the template information  600  in the form server  107  is held in the business server  105 . 
     Data in Authorization Server  106   
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate data tables stored in a storage by the authorization server  106 . Such a data table may be stored in another server communicatively connected to the Internet  100  or a local network  101  instead of a storage in the authorization server  106 . The data table held in the authorization server  106  may include client information  500  and authorization token information  510 . 
     The client information  500  illustrated  FIG. 5A  includes information regarding a client allowed to access to the servers  106  to  108 . According to this exemplary embodiment, information regarding the business server  105  is registered as a client with the client information  500 . A client ID  501  is an identifier by which a client can be uniquely identified. According to this exemplary embodiment, “client 0001” being a client ID of the business server  105  is registered. A secret  502  is a password usable for determining validity of a client. The authorization server  106  identifies a client if a pair of a client ID and a secret received from a client is matched with a pair of the client ID  501  and the secret  502  in the client information  500 . A scope  503  is an OAuth scope and indicates a range accessible with an authorization token issued by the authorization server  106 . The type of the scope  503  according to this exemplary embodiment is defined as SVG_Preview. The SVG_Preview scope is a scope required by the business server  10  for accessing an interface of the form server  107 . A tenant ID  504  is an identifier by which a client tenant can be uniquely identified. 
     The authorization token information  510  in  FIG. 5B  is generated when the authorization server  106  receives a request to acquire an authorization token. One record is generated in response to one request. The authorization token  511  is an identifier by which an authorization token can be uniquely identified. An expiration date  512  is an expiration date of an authorization token, and a value after a lapse of a predetermined time period from a time when the authorization token acquisition request is received is registered. The authorization token  511  after the expiration date  512  is invalid. The scope  513  is a scope in which the authorization token  511  can be used, and a scope passed to the authorization server  106  along with the authorization token acquisition request is registered therewith. A client ID passed to the authorization server  106  along with the authorization token acquisition request is registered with a client ID  514 . An application ID  515  is an identifier by which an application can be identified in a case where a client uses a plurality of applications. The application ID  515  is registered when an application ID is passed to the authorization server  106  along with an authorization token acquisition request. No application ID is registered if no application ID is passed to the authorization server  106  along with an authorization token acquisition request. According to this exemplary embodiment, local user information (user name  302 @domain name  301 ) is designated for an application ID in an authorization token acquisition request from the business server  105  to the authorization server  106  and is registered as the application ID  515 . Information excluding a user name and a domain name except for a password from the local authentication information illustrated in  FIG. 3  will be called local user information hereinafter. 
     Data Managed by Form Server  107   
       FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C  illustrate data tables stored in an external memory by the form server  107 . These data tables may be stored in another server communicatively connected to the Internet  100  or a local network  101  instead of an external memory of the form server  107 . The data tables held by the form server  107  include the template information  600  and the preview information  610 . 
     The template information  600  in  FIG. 6A  is information for managing templates held by the form server  107 . A template ID  601  is an identifier by which a template can be uniquely identified and is issued when the template is registered with the form server  107 . A tenant ID  602  is a tenant ID of a tenant with which a template is registered. The form server  107  controls an access to a template for each tenant ID  602 . A template URL path  603  is a URL path in a storage server  109  storing a template. The form server  107  generates a folder (and file) indicated by a URL path including the template ID  601  in the storage server  109  and stores a template therein. 
     The preview information  610  in  FIG. 6B  is information based on which the form server  107  manages preview processing. A preview ID  611  is issued and registered when the form server  107  receives a preview generation request. A tenant ID  612  is a tenant ID of a tenant being a requestor of a preview generation request. A user ID  613  is an identifier of a user being a requestor of a preview generation request. With the user ID  613 , identification information combining a tenant ID and local user information (user name  302 @domain name  301 ) is registered according to this embodiment. The local user information corresponds to the application ID  515  included in the authorization token information  510 . A data conversion ID  614  is an identifier by which a data conversion process can be identified, which is received by the form server  107  in response to a business form SVG generation request to the data conversion server  108 . A business form PDF URL path  615  is a URL path in the storage server  109  storing a business form PDF. The form server  107  generates a folder (and file) indicated by a URL path including the preview ID  611  in the storage server  109  and stores a business form PDF therein. 
     The tenant setting information  620  in  FIG. 6C  is setting information for each tenant in the form server  107 . As a setting for the tenant ID  621 , local authentication cooperation mode  622  is held. The local authentication cooperation mode  622  exhibits “true” or “false” to indicate whether the cooperation with the local authentication security domain  110  is enabled or not, respectively. For example, “true” indicates that the cooperation is enabled while “false” indicates that the cooperation is not enabled. The tenant setting information may be set for each server, but tenant sharing information set in a specific server may be shared by a plurality of servers. Thus, for example, when tenant setting information is updated in a certain server, it may be distributed to the other servers. 
     Data Managed by Data Conversion Server  108   
       FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C  illustrate data tables stored in an external memory by the data conversion server  108 . The data tables held by the data conversion server  108  include document information  700 , data conversion information  710 , and tenant setting information  720 . 
     The document information  700  in  FIG. 7A  is generated when the data conversion server  108  receives a business form SVG generation request. One record is generated in response to one request. A document ID  701  is an identifier which is issued when the data conversion server  108  receives a business form SVG generation request and by which a document can be uniquely identified. The tenant ID  702  is a tenant ID of a tenant of a requestor issuing a business form SVG generation request. The user ID  703  is an identifier of a user being a requestor issuing a business form SVG generation request. With the user ID  703 , a combination of a client ID and local user information (user name  302 @domain name  301 ) is registered. A document URL  704  is a URL path in the storage server  109  storing a business form PDF. The document URL  704  is passed to the data conversion server  108  as a parameter of a business form SVG generation request from the form server  107 . 
     The data conversion information  710  in  FIG. 7B  is generated when the data conversion server  108  receives a business form SVG generation request. One record is generated in response to one request. A data conversion ID  711  is an identifier which is issued when the data conversion server  108  receives a business form SVG generation request and by which a data conversion process can be uniquely identified. A tenant ID  712 , a user ID  713 , and a document ID  714  exhibit equal values to those of the tenant ID  702 , user ID  703 , and document ID  701 , respectively, in the document information  700  generated when the data conversion server  108  receives a data conversion request. An index URL  715  is a URL in the storage server  109  storing an index file being a URL list of business form SVGS generated by the data conversion server  108 . In a case where a business form SVG having a plurality of pages is generated, a plurality of URLs of the business form SVG on the storage server  109  is described in the index file. The index URL  715  is generated and stored by including the data conversion ID  711  in the URL path such that the index URL  715  can be unique in the storage server  109  when the data conversion server  108  completes the generation of the business form SVG. A status  716  indicates a data conversion state of the data conversion server  108  and is updated by the data conversion server  108  in accordance with the data conversion state. The status  716  may exhibit “STANDBY” and “CONVERTED”. 
     The tenant setting information  720  in  FIG. 7C  is setting information for each tenant in the data conversion server  108 . The tenant setting information  720  is the same kinds of information as the tenant setting information  620  for the form server  107 . 
     Data in Storage Server  109   
       FIG. 8  illustrates a data table stored in an external memory by the storage server  109 . The data table may be stored in another server communicatively connected to the Internet  100  or a local network  101  instead of an external memory of the storage server  109 . The data table held storage server  109  includes file property information  800 . The file property information  800  in  FIG. 8  is information regarding a file stored in the storage server  109 . A data URL  801  is a URL by which a file stored in the storage server  109  can be uniquely identified. A file path  802  is a file path on a storage and indicates a storage location of a file. A request may be issued to the data URL  801  to manipulate the corresponding file in the storage. For example, when an HTTP GET method is a requested to the data URL  801 , the corresponding file can be downloaded. When an HTTP PUT method to which a file is attached is requested to the data URL  801 , the file can be uploaded and be stored. When an HTTP DELETE method is requested to the data URL  801 , the corresponding file can be deleted. 
     Screens on Mobile Terminal  102   
       FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C  illustrate example screens which are presented by a browser application for display on the mobile terminal  102  and which are displayed on the display  215  through the display control unit  208  in  FIG. 2A . A log-in screen  900  in  FIG. 9A  is a screen for logging in the local authentication server  104 , which is responded by the business server  105  upon a first access from the mobile terminal  102  to the business server  105 . When a user name  901 , a password  902 , and a domain  903  are entered and a log-in button  904  is pressed, a local authentication request is transmitted to the business server  105 . The user name  901 , password  902 , and domain  903  transmitted along with a local authentication request are compared to the local authentication information  300  registered with the local authentication server  104  for authentication. A deal screen  910  in  FIG. 9B  is a screen displaying work information on a user who is logging in through the log-in screen  900 . When the business server  105  receives a local authentication request and if the local authentication server  104  authenticates it, a deal screen  910  including work information on the authenticate user is responded. If a business form generation button  911  is pressed on the deal screen  910 , a business form generation request is transmitted to the business server  105 . A preview screen  920  in  FIG. 9C  is a screen for displaying a business form SVG, and a business form SVG generated by the form server  107  is displayed on a screen on the mobile terminal  102 . 
     Business Form SVG Preview Flow 
       FIG. 10  is a processing flow from a press of the log-in button  904  on the log-in screen  900  to display the preview screen  920 .  FIGS. 14 and 15  are sequence diagrams illustrating the processing flow in time-series manner. The terms “transmit” and “receive” are used in the following description. However, they do not necessarily limit the transmission and reception to electrical communications in some configurations of servers, but the communications may include communications between processes.  FIG. 10  illustrates arrows each indicating a request but does not illustrate a response to the request for avoiding complexity. However, a certain response is returned to a request as will be described below. 
     If the log-in button  904  is pressed on the log-in screen  900  in S 10 . 1 , a local authentication request having a user name, a password, and a domain as parameters is transmitted from the mobile terminal  102  to the business server  105 . 
     The business server  105  receiving the local authentication request from the mobile terminal  102  transmits a local authentication request to the local authentication server  104  in S 10 . 2 . The parameters are transmitted in the local authentication request in S 10 . 1  and S 10 . 2 . The local authentication server  104  receiving the local authentication request compares the request parameters of the user name, password, and domain to the domain name  301 , user name  302 , and password  303  in the local authentication information  300  for authentication. The authentication result is responded to the business server  105 . If the authentication result received from the local authentication server  104  by the business server  105  is “success”, a deal screen  910  is generated by using the work information on the authenticated user and is returned to the mobile terminal  102  as a response in S 10 . 1 . If the authentication result is “failure”, a screen showing the fact is responded from the local authentication server  104  to the mobile terminal  102  through the business server  105 . 
     If the business form generation button  911  is pressed on the deal screen  910  in S 10 . 3 , a business form generation request is transmitted from the mobile terminal to the business server  105 . The business server  105  receiving the business form generation request in S 10 . 3  performs processing in S 10 . 4 , S 10 . 5 , and S 10 . 7 , which will be described below, and responds a URL of a preview screen to the mobile terminal  102  along with an authorization token and a preview ID in S 10 . 9 . 
     The business server  105  in S 10 . 4  transmits an authorization token generation request to the authorization server  106 . The business server  105  transmits, as parameters of the authorization token generation request, client information including the client ID  401 , the secret  402 , and the scope  403  and local user information (user name  302 @domain name  301 ) of the user authenticated in S 10 . 2  as an application ID. The client information may sometimes be called credential information. It can be said that the local user information is identification information of a requesting user of a request (business form generation request in S 10 . 3 ) in response to which the business server  105  being a client of a cloud service requests a cloud service. The authorization server  106  receiving the authorization token generation request in S 10 . 4  determines whether the client ID, secret, and scope of the parameters exist in the client information  500  or not. If the client ID  501 , secret  502 , and scope  503  are matched thereto, an authorization token  511  is issued, and a record corresponding to the issued authorization token is added to the authorization token information  510 . At that time, the authorization server  106  registers the scope, client ID, application ID received in the parameters in the authorization token generation request in S 10 . 4  with the record added to the authorization token information  510 . The authorization server  106  returns the authorization token  511  issued as a response to the authorization token generation request in S 10 . 4  to the business server  105 . 
     In S 10 . 5 , the business server  105  receiving the authorization token  511  transmits a preview generation request to the form server  107 . The business server  105  transmits the authorization token received as a response to the authorization token generation request in S 10 . 4 , the template ID  411 , and the work information used for generating the deal screen  910  in S 10 . 2  as the parameters of the preview generation request in S 10 . 5 . 
     In S 10 . 6 , the form server  107  transmits an authorization token verification request to the authorization server  106  by using the authorization token received in response to the preview generation request in S 10 . 5  and a scope as the parameters. The scope to be designated here may be SVG_Preview corresponding to the preview generation request, for example. The authorization server  106  receiving the authorization token verification request in S 10 . 6  verifies whether or not any record matched to the authorization token and scope received as the parameters exists in the authorization token information  510 . If there is a matched record, the record information (hereinafter, called authorization token information) is responded. In this case, the authorization token information to be responded further includes a tenant ID corresponding to the client ID  514  included in the authorization token information. The whole client information  500  may be included therein, but the tenant ID is enough in this exemplary embodiment. If no record is matched to the received authorization token and scope, “ERROR” is responded. When the form server  107  receives the authorization token information in response to an authorization token verification request, the preview ID  611  is issued, and the record is registered with the preview information  610 . The tenant ID of the received authorization token information is recorded as the tenant ID  612  of the record, and the application ID of the authorization token information is recorded as the user ID  613 . The form server  107  returns to the issued preview ID  611  to the business server  105  in response to the preview generation request in S 10 . 5 . 
     In S 10 . 6 - 1 , the form server  107  identifies the template with the template ID  601  matched to the template ID received as the parameter of the preview generation request in S 10 . 5  from the template information  600 . The template file is acquired from the template URL path  603  of the identified template. The form server  107  generates a business form PDF by reflecting work information to the template file. The business form PDF is form data in a PDF format. The form server  107  generates a URL path on the storage server  109  from the preview ID generated in S 10 . 6  and registers the generated URL path with the business form PDF URL path  615  corresponding to the preview ID  611  in the preview information  610 . The generated business form PDF is uploaded to the business form PDF URL path  615 . 
     In S 10 . 6 - 2 , the form server  107  transmits a business form SVG generation request to the data conversion server  108 . The form server  107  designates, as parameters of the business form SVG generation request, the authorization token received along with the preview generation request in S 10 . 5  and the business form PDF URL path  615  generated in S 10 . 6 - 1 . 
     In S 10 . 6 - 3 , the data conversion server  108  transmits an authorization token verification request to the authorization server  106  by using the authorization token received along with the business form SVG generation request in S 10 . 6 - 2  and a scope as parameters thereof. The scope designated here is SVG_Preview corresponding to the business form SVG generation request, for example. The authorization token verification request is processed in the same manner as in S 10 . 6 . 
     When the data conversion server  108  receives the authorization token information in response to the authorization token verification request in S 10 . 6 - 3 , the data conversion server  108  issues a document ID  701  and a data change ID  711  and registers them with the document information  700  and the data conversion information  710 , respectively, as new records. With the tenant IDs  702  and  712  here, the tenant ID in the authorization token information received in S 10 . 6 - 3  is registered. With the user IDs  703  and  713 , the application ID in the authorization token information received in S 10 . 6 - 3  is registered. With the document URL path  704 , the business form PDF URL path being the parameter of the business form SVG generation request received in S 10 . 6 - 2  is registered. With the document ID  714 , the same one as the document ID  701  in the document information  700  is registered. The data conversion server  108  returns to the issued data conversion ID  711  to the form server  107  in response to the business form SVG generation request in S 10 . 6 - 2 . The form server  107  which receives a data conversion ID in response to the business form SVG generation request in S 10 . 6 - 2  registers the received data conversion ID with the data conversion ID  614  in the preview information  610 . 
     In S 10 . 6 - 4 , the data conversion server  108  acquires a business form PDF from the business form PDF URL path  704  and converts the business form PDF to a business form SVG. The business form SVG is form data in an SVG format. 
     In S 10 . 6 - 5 , the data conversion server  108  generates a business form SVG URL path and an index URL path on the storage server  109  and uploads the business form SVG converted in S 10 . 6 - 4  to the business form SVG URL path. The data conversion server  108  uploads an index file being a list of business form SVG URL paths to the index URL path. The data conversion server  108  registers the index URL path  715  with the data conversion information  710 . 
     In S 10 . 7 , the business server  105  transmits a preview URL acquisition request to the form server  107 . The business server  105  designates, as parameters of the preview URL acquisition request in S 10 . 7 , the authorization token received in response to the authorization token generation request in S 10 . 4  and the preview ID received in response to the preview generation request in S 10 . 5 . The business server  105  transmits the preview URL acquisition request in S 10 . 7  out of synchronization with the processing in S 10 . 6 - 1  to S 10 . 6 - 5  as described above immediately after a response to the preview generation request in S 10 . 5  is received. Thus, the processing in S 10 . 6 - 1  to S 10 . 6 - 5  in  FIG. 14  and the processing in S 10 . 7  and subsequent thereto in  FIG. 15  are performed out of synchronization with each other. Thus, if the storage of the index and business form SVG in S 10 . 6 - 5  is not completed when the index and business form SVG are requested in S 10 . 14 , the business form SVG cannot be responded to the mobile terminal  102 . In this case, the mobile terminal  102  repeats the attempt in S 10 . 14  until the attempt results in a success. 
     In S 10 . 8 , the form server  107  receiving a preview URL acquisition request designates, as parameters, the authorization token of the parameter and a scope and transmits an authorization token verification request to the authorization server  106 . The scope to be designated may be SVG_Preview corresponding to the preview URL acquisition request, for example. The authorization token verification request is processed in the same manner as in S 10 . 6  as described above. 
     When the form server  107  receives authorization token information in response to the authorization token verification request in S 10 . 8 , the form server  107  identifies from the preview information  610  a record matched to the preview ID received as a parameter of the preview URL acquisition request in S 10 . 7 . The form server  107  returns to the preview URL of the form server  107  in response to the preview URL acquisition request in S 10 . 7 . For the preview screen URL returned by the form server  107 , the preview ID and authorization token received in S 10 . 7  are designated as a URL parameter. 
     In S 10 . 9 , the business server  105  returns the preview screen URL of the form server  107  received in S 10 . 7  to the mobile terminal  102  in response to the business form generation request in S 10 . 3 . Along with the preview screen URL, the preview ID and authorization token received in response to the preview URL acquisition request in S 10 . 7  are transmitted to the mobile terminal  102 . 
     In S 10 . 10 , the mobile terminal  102  transmits a preview screen acquisition request to the preview screen URL received in S 10 . 9 . The server (form server  107  here) designated with the preview screen URL responds to the mobile terminal  102  a script for executing processing in S 10 . 10 - 2  as a content of the designated URL. 
     In S 10 . 10 - 2 , the mobile terminal  102  executes the received script and transmits an index URL acquisition request to the form server  107 . In this case, as a parameter of the index URL acquisition request, the preview ID and authorization token received in S 10 . 9  are also transmitted. 
     In S 10 . 11 , the form server  107  in response to the index URL acquisition request designates the authorization token designated with the URL parameter and a scope as parameters and transmits an authorization token verification request to the authorization server  106 . The scope designated here may be SVG_Preview corresponding to the index URL acquisition request, for example. The authorization token verification request is processed in the same manner as in S 10 . 6  as described above. 
     When the form server  107  receives the authorization token information in response to the authorization token verification request in S 10 . 11 , the form server  107  identifies, from the preview information  610 , a record matched to the authorization token preview ID designated in the URL parameters in the index URL acquisition request. If the data conversion ID  614  is not registered with the identified preview information  610 , the form server  107  responds “ERROR” in S 10 . 10  because a business form PDF has not been generated yet. 
     In S 10 . 12 , if the data conversion ID  614  is registered with the identified preview information  610 , the form server  107  transmits an index URL acquisition request to the data conversion server  108  by defining the data conversion ID  614  and the authorization token received in S 10 . 7  as parameters therein. 
     In S 10 . 13 , the data conversion server  108  designates, as parameters, the authorization token being the parameter in the index URL acquisition request and a scope and transmits an authorization token verification request to the authorization server  106 . The authorization token verification request is processed in the same manner as in the S 10 . 6 . The scope designated here may be SVG_Preview corresponding to the index URL acquisition request, for example. 
     If the data conversion server  108  receives the authorization token information in response to the authorization token verification request in S 10 . 13 , the data conversion server  108  identifies, from the data conversion information  710 , a record matched to the data conversion ID received as the parameter in the index URL acquisition request in S 10 . 12 . If the identified data conversion information  710  has a status  716  of “CONVERTED”, the index URL path  715  is returned to the form server  107  as a response to the index URL acquisition request in S 10 . 12 . The form server  107  returns the received index URL path to the mobile terminal  102  as a response to the index URL acquisition request in S 10 . 10 - 2 . Here, if the identified data conversion information  710  has a status  716  other than “CONVERTED”, the data conversion server  108  returns “ERROR” as a response in S 10 . 12  to the form server  107  because a business form SVG has not been generated yet. The form server  107  responds “ERROR” to the index URL acquisition request in S 10 . 10 - 2 . The mobile terminal  102  retries as a response to the processing in S 10 . 10 - 2  until a business form SVG can be generated and the index URL path thereof can be received. 
     In S 10 . 14 , the mobile terminal  102  acquires an index from the index URL path acquired as a response to the index URL acquisition request in S 10 . 10 - 2 . Then, a business form SVG is acquired from the business form SVG URL described in the index, and the business form SVG is displayed on a preview screen  920 . In other words, subsequent to the index acquisition, a request for a business form SVG is transmitted, and the business form SVG is responded. The processes are illustrated in a simplified manner in  FIGS. 10 and 15 . 
     Flow of Issuance of Authorization Token by Authorization Server  106   
       FIG. 11  illustrates details of a flow of processing for issuing an authorization token when the authorization server  106  receives an authorization token request (S 10 . 4 ). 
     In S 11 . 1 , the authorization server  106  receives an authorization token request. The authorization server  106  receives a client ID, a secret, a scope, and an application ID as parameters in the authorization token request. 
     In S 11 . 2 , the authorization server  106  identifies a record matched to the client ID received in S 11 . 1  from the client information  500 . 
     In S 11 . 3 , the authorization server  106  determines whether the client ID  501  and the secret  502  in the client information  500  identified in S 11 . 2  are matched to the client ID and secret received in S 11 . 1 . If they are not matched, “ERROR” is returned (S 11 . 5 ). 
     In S 11 . 4 , the authorization server  106  determines whether the scope  503  in the client information  500  identified in S 11 . 2  is matched to the scope received in S 11 . 1 . If they are not matched, “ERROR” is returned (S 11 . 5 ). 
     In S 11 . 5 , the authorization server  106  issues an authorization token ID  511  registers the client ID, scope, and application ID received in S 11 . 1  as records with the authorization token information  510 . Local user information (user name  302 @domain name  301 ) is designated in the application ID in the processing in S 10 . 4 . However, a request from a client not involved in the local authentication cooperation has a null or different value in the application ID. 
     Through the procedure as described above, local user information by which a local user can be identified is registered in association with the authorization token as the authorization token information  510 . If the authorization token is verified successfully by the authorization server  106 , the authorization token information  500  is returned to the requestor of the verification. Thus, a server requesting the verification of the authorization token received along with the request can acquire the local user information if the requestor of the request is a local user. 
     Flow of Verification of Authorization Token by Form Server  107  and Data Conversion Server  108   
       FIG. 12  illustrates details of a flow of processing for authorization token verification when the form server  107  or the data conversion server  108  receives a request (S 10 . 5 , S 10 . 6 - 1 , S 10 . 7 , S 10 . 10 , S 10 . 11 , and S 10 . 12 ). 
     In S 12 . 1 , the form server  107  or the data conversion server  108  receives a request. An authorization token is received as a parameter of the request. 
     In S 12 . 2 , the form server  107  or the data conversion server  108  transmits an authorization token verification request to the authorization server  106 . If authorization token information is not acquired as a result of the authorization token verification request, “ERROR” is returned (S 12 . 6 ). If the authorization token verification results in “success”, authorization token information is returned as the response. The returned information includes a tenant ID. 
     The form server  107  or data conversion server  108  in S 12 . 3  identifies a record matched to the tenant ID in the authorization token information from the tenant setting information  620  or  720 . Then, whether the local authentication cooperation mode  622  or  722  of the tenant is enabled or not is determined. 
     If the local authentication cooperation mode of the tenant is enabled in S 12 . 4 , the form server  107  or the data conversion server  108  processes the request by handling the local user information (user name  302 @domain name  301 ) registered with the tenant ID and the application ID in the authorization token information as a unique user. 
     If it is determined in S 12 . 5  that the local authentication cooperation mode of the tenant is disabled, the form server  107  or the data conversion server  108  processes the request by handling the client ID in the authorization token information as a unique user. 
     Local authentication information is associated with an authorization token in local user information upon issuance of the authorization token so that the local user information can be acquired from the authorization token information when the user is verified by using the authorization token. Use of the local user information allows unique identification of the user as a user of the local authentication server  104  in the form server  107  and the data conversion server  108 . The local user information associated with the authorization token may be processed as identification information describing a unique user in charging processing and totalization processing in the form server  107  or the data conversion server  108 , for example, so that it can be used in cooperation with the local authentication server  104 . This can eliminate the necessity for ID provisioning between the local authentication security domain  110  and the business form service security domain  111 , which can reduce the operation load. The business server  105  uses one client to issue an authorization token, but use of the issued authorization token is limited by the local authentication information. Thus, information regarding other users cannot be accessed by using the authorization token. Therefore, the authentication cooperation can be implemented securely. 
     The enable/disable of the local authentication cooperation mode may be defined as a setting for each tenant so that a specific tenant in a multitenant mode can only enable the local authentication cooperation and that client&#39;s needs can be met flexibly in authentication and authorization processing. 
     Local authentication information can be associated with an authorization token instead of local user information. According to this exemplary embodiment, a business form generation request is exemplarily given as a processing request. However, the invention according to this exemplary embodiment is also applicable to other processing requests. 
     Other Embodiments 
     Embodiments of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions recorded on a storage medium (e.g., non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) of the present invention, and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU), or other circuitry, and may include a network of separate computers or separate computer processors. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like. 
     While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. 
     This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-239749, filed Dec. 8, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.