Access authentication for distributed networks

A data center comprising a plurality of network resources and a directory server for authenticating users for access to said network resources by means of a directory structure comprising a root node, a first level of nodes below said root node that are associated with respective organizations to which said network resources are assigned, and at least one further level of nodes below said first level that identify users who are authorized to access the network resources assigned to the organization associated with a parent first-level node and authentication information for said users, wherein at least some of network resources are servers that each include an authentication module that is responsive to a request for access to determine the organization to which its corresponding server is assigned and restrict directory searches to the further-level nodes below the first-level node associated with the determined organization.

A distributed network having network resources distributed among a plurality of locations, and comprising:

• a master directory server at one of said locations, said master directory server containing a directory structure comprising a root node, a first level of nodes below said root node that are associated with respective organizations to which said network resources are assigned, and at least one further level of nodes below said first level that identify users who are authorized to access the network resources assigned to the organization associated with a parent first-level node and authentication information for said users;
• and
• at least one directory server at each of the other locations, each of said directory servers containing a replicated copy of said directory structure, wherein at least some of network resources are servers that each include an authentication module that is responsive to a request for access to determine the organization to which its corresponding server is assigned and restrict directory searches to the further-level nodes below the first-level node associated with the determined organization.