AUTHENTICATION SERVER-CLIENT SYSTEM

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow between arbitrary clients, who are authenticated by an authentication server, to request and provide services. SOLUTION: The authentication server 100 has a client management table 101 for managing address information on clients 1101 to 100n, service information that the clients can provide, and status information and an access control table 102 which represents whether services provided by the clients are accessable or not accessable by other clients. The authentication server receives a service request from a client, performs retrieval from client management table and access control table to provide address information on a client, which can provide service and authentication as to whether the service providing source client is accessable to a service requesting client, who sends a service request to the service provided source client based on them.