protected function createNode($resourceUri, $roles) {
        //Break up the uri on the slashes
        $nodes = preg_split('/(\\\|\\/)/', $resourceUri, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);

        //foreach node, check if it currently exits, else create it
        $ptr = &$this->config;
        foreach($nodes as $node) {
            if (!isset($ptr[$node])) {
                $ptr[$node] = array('_roles' => $roles);
            }
            $ptr = &$ptr[$node];
        }
    }