System and Method for Distributing Information in a Network Environment

• US 20080034409A1
• Filed: 10/10/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dixon, Walter, White, John, Frye, Dwight, Pittenger, Frank, Schomburg, Keith, Menditto, Louis, Bakita, Thomas, Albert, Mark, O'Rourke, Chris, Mackie, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,894,359 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/026 using flow identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 using filters or firewalls

Abstract

A method for distributing information in a network environment is provided that includes receiving one or more packets from a communication flow initiated by an end user and selectively communicating information associated with the communication flow to a network element so that the network element may correlate a source with the communication flow.

Claims

1. A method for enlisting one or more end users in a network environment, comprising:

enlisting one or more end users in a billing plan associated with network communications;

generating a bill associated with one or more of the end users, the bill being based on the billing plan; and

facilitating network communications for one or more of the end users in response to the end users being enlisted in the billing plan, whereby the network communications includes an apparatus for monitoring information in a network environment that comprises;

an identity broker operable to receive one or more packets from a communication flow and to selectively communicate information associated with the communication flow to a network element so that the network element may correlate a source with the communication flow, wherein the information associated with the communication flow is communicated to the network element in response to a query from the network element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the query is generated by a selected one of a server and the network element, the identity broker correlating a network address of either the server or the network element to an identity associated with an end user that initiated the communication flow.

3. The method of claim 1, whereby authorization, authentication, and accounting (AAA) information is directed at the identity broker, which acts as a AAA proxy in forwarding AAA messages from a AAA server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the network element provisions one or more services based on a situation associated with the end user, the situation reflecting an end user parameter selected from the group consisting of:

a physical location associated with the end user;

a network access technology associated with the end user;

a network service preference associated with the end user; and

a quality of service associated with the end user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

a server coupled to the identity broker and operable to provide AAA functions to an end user associated with the communication flow.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker comprises a database element operable to store portions of data from the communication flow, the portions being communicated intermittently to the network element.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker comprises a table that stores one or more relationships reflecting which types of information associated with the communication flow are to be selectively communicated to the network element.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the network element uses the information in order to provide client-specific capabilities to an end user associated with the communication flow.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker comprises an intelligence element that instructs the identity broker to communicate the information associated with the communication flow to a backup network element in response to the network element being inoperative.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker provides a point of management in order to control one or more network operations associated with an end user that initiated the communication session.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker constructs an in memory datastore of information correlated to a plurality of IP addresses, the identity broker gleaning an identity token from a AAA flow and the IP addresses from an IP flow.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker constructs an in memory datastore of information from alternate data sources, the data sources including location servers and user preference databases, the databases store access devices used by selected end users.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker gleans and stores real-time and static data.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker provides a networking interface such that network equipment and servers can make queries to the identity broker to resolve a network address into an identity for a selected end user.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the interface is implemented as an extended markup language (XML) dialect transported over UDP.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker is a fault-tolerant system that involves several pieces of network equipment.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity broker provides secure access to correlated identity data of selected end users.

18. An apparatus for monitoring information in a network environment, comprising:

an identity broker operable to receive one or more packets from a communication flow and to selectively communicate information associated with the communication flow to a network element so that the network element may correlate a source with the communication flow, wherein the information associated with the communication flow is communicated to the network element in response to a query from the network element, and wherein the query is generated by a selected one of a server and the network element.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the identity broker provides a networking facing interface such that network equipment and servers can may make queries to the identity broker to resolve a network address into an identity, the identity broker correlating a network address of either the server or the network element to an identity associated with an end user that initiated the communication flow.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the identity broker constructs an in memory datastore of information from alternate data sources, the data sources including location servers and user preference databases, the databases store access devices used by selected end users.