Client account generation and authentication system for a network server

摘要

A system and method are described for providing secure user account identifiers and passwords to facilitate sharing by users of data between a secure internal server and an external server accessible over the Internet. A user account identifier is generated in accordance with a request from a user having access to the internal server, and a password associated with the account identifier is assigned. The account identifier and password are stored in a database on the internal server. A user account identifier database for an external user is replicated to the external server. The external user may obtain access to data replicated from the internal server to the external server. To provide a unique account identifier for each user, the account identifiers have different formats. When the user account identifier is for the requestor's own use, the user account identifier has a format determined by a type of user account (such as Lotus Notes) already owned by the requester. When the user account identifier is requested for an external user, the user account identifier has a format determined by the external user's Internet identifier.