Patent ID: 7461081

Claim:
An information-processing apparatus including a module which provides one or more clients with a function that needs exclusive access control in which user information stored in the information-processing apparatus is exclusively read or updated by a client through authentication, comprising: a processor; a session management unit configured to interact with the processor and to manage a series of session processing steps and incidental information, wherein said session management unit is configured to receive a session start request and information to authenticate the one or more clients, create session information including a session ID, a first time-out period, and authentication data, the first time-out period indicating how long the session management unit holds the session information, and extend the first time-out period by an amount based on the function that needs exclusive access control if a session extension request including the session ID and a client ID is received during the first time-out period and deleting the session information and ending the session if the session extension request is not received during the first time-out period; and a transaction management unit configured to interact with the processor and to manage a series of indivisible transaction processing steps performed by using the function that needs exclusive access control in a state where the transaction processing is continued by extending a second time-out period, which indicates how long transaction information is stored, by an amount based on the function that needs exclusive access control, the transaction information including a transaction ID, the second time-out period, and the session ID, wherein the session management unit is configured to start the management of the session processing steps when an express management start request is received from the client or when an implicit request to start management of the session processing steps other than the express management start request is received.