Method and system for user authentication offload in a transparent database load balancer

Abstract

Roughly described, a database accelerator is installed in a network between database client and server systems. Connection requests from a client system are received and authenticated by the accelerator itself, which is pre-configured with user authentication information, by emulating the authentication process on behalf of the server. An authenticated connection from the accelerator to a database server is established only if and when needed. Involving the server for authentication can be avoided for example if the accelerator maintains a pool of such authenticated server connections for re-use as needed, and/or if the accelerator maintains a cache of query responses previously received and can respond to new queries from the cache. By installing the accelerator transparently in the network, no modification of software in either the client application or the database servers is required in order to add authentication offload functionality to an existing client/server database arrangement.