Patent ID: 8768947

Claim:
A method for implementing keys in an enterprise network system, the method comprising: receiving a database query sent from a database application to an enterprise server, the database query comprising a virtual key corresponding to a primary key that is identical to different databases in an enterprise system; storing a key translation table in memory of the enterprise server, the key translation table mapping different primary keys to different virtual keys, each one of the different virtual keys uniquely identifying one of the different databases in the enterprise system with a single-column having a single data type; querying the key translation table for the primary key corresponding to the database query; retrieving one of the different virtual keys from the key translation table that maps to the primary key; translating the database query into a translated database query that replaces the virtual key with the one of the different primary keys; sending the translated database query from the enterprise server to the one of the different databases uniquely identified by the one of the different virtual keys; receiving, at the enterprise server, a database response to the translated database query; translating the database response into a translated response that replaces the one of the different primary keys with the virtual key; and sending the translated response from the enterprise server to the database application in response to the database query.