Patent ID: 7886341

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of external user authentication, comprising: receiving at a native directory server an authentication request comprising a directory operation under a standard Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) protocol from a client for accessing a resource in a database coupled to the native directory server; in response to the client's credential information not being stored in the native directory server, forwarding the authentication request from the native directory server to a plug-in module maintained in a program space within the database; executing the plug-in module within the database to replace the directory operation with another directory operation under a protocol that is customized to an external third-party directory server that stores credential information of the client; redirecting the authentication request comprising the replaced directory operation to the external third-party directory server; receiving an authentication result from the external third-party directory server at the plug-in module; and reporting the authentication result to the native directory server, thereby making the authentication through the external third-party directory server transparent to the client.