Patent ID: 8086843

Claim:
A method for performing cryptographic provider failover via computer instructions in a storage device of a computer, the method via the computer instructions in the storage device of the computer including: upon receipt of a first security request, constructing by an integrated cryptographic provider a table comprising a list of a plurality of underlying cryptographic providers for a plurality of service type algorithm pairs on the computer; wherein the integrated cryptographic provider is one of the plurality of underlying cryptographic providers in the list of the table; wherein the plurality of underlying cryptographic providers are registered as hardware cryptographic providers and software cryptographic providers in the list of the table; and wherein the integrated cryptographic provider is registered as a routing cryptographic provider in the list of the table; arranging the list in the table of the plurality of underlying cryptographic providers so that the integrated cryptographic provider registered as the routing cryptographic provider has the highest priority in the list in the table and so that the plurality of underlying cryptographic providers have a lower priority in the list in the table than the integrated cryptographic provider; and utilizing the integrated cryptographic provider to specify failover support for all registered service type algorithm pairs using one or more of the plurality of underlying cryptographic providers; wherein in response to a subsequent security request received from an application, the integrated cryptographic provider being the routing cryptographic provider that constructed the table utilizes the list of the plurality of underlying cryptographic providers to identify a second cryptographic provider to which the request will be routed if a first cryptographic provider fails.