Apparatus and method for generating keys in a network computing environment

Abstract

A global key control mechanism provides a single point of overall control for key generation, but portions of the key generation and/or allocation tasks may be delegated to client computer systems, thereby reducing network traffic. The global key control mechanism may download a client key generation mechanism on one or more client computer systems, and may allocate a block of keys to the client key generation mechanism. Requests for keys may then be routed to the client key generation mechanism, which can generate and/or allocate keys within the block of keys that the global key control mechanism allocated to it. When the block of keys is used up, the client key generation mechanism may request another block from the global key control mechanism. The preferred embodiments also include the capability of downloading a client key generation mechanism with an associated block of keys once the requests from one or more client applications exceed a predetermined threshold. In addition, the preferred embodiments include a hierarchy of key control mechanisms, with a single global key control mechanism that maintains control over one or more client key control mechanisms that may, in turn, control other client key control mechanism(s) or which may generate and/or allocate keys directly to requesting applications.