RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFIERS FOR PROVIDING USER ACCESS TO COMPUTING RESOURCES

• US 20090089885A1
• Filed: 09/24/2008
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Viavi Solutions, Inc. (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Finisar Corporation (II-VI Incorporated)
• Inventors: Yin, Anna, Noble, Gayle L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,471,757 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/123 by using dedicated hardware, e.g. dongles, smart cards, cryptographic processors, global positioning systems [GPS] devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63775 for uploading keys, e.g. for a client to communicate its public key to the server key management H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

A system for controlling access to computing resources including an authentication device operatively associated with a computing device, the authentication device being configured to transmit an interrogation signal to a predetermined area. A computing device has at least one software application resides thereon. A wireless license device is configured to transmit license information to the authentication device in response to the interrogation signal and to allow the software application to run while the wireless license device is within the predetermined area and to prevent the software application from running when the wireless license device is not within the predetermined area.

Claims

1. A system for controlling access to computing resources including:

an authentication device operatively associated with a computing device, the authentication device being configured to transmit an interrogation signal to a predetermined area;

a computing device having at least one software application resides thereon; and

a wireless license device configured to transmit license information to the authentication device in response to the interrogation signal and to allow the software application to run while the wireless license device is within the predetermined area and to prevent the software application from running when the wireless license device is not within the predetermined area.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless license device includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the authentication device includes a reader configured to receive radio frequency communications from the RFID tag.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein computing device is a network device.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the network device is a monitoring device configured to monitor network traffic flowing over at least one network link.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the RFID tag is contained within a portable card.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless license device includes license information stored thereon.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the license information includes unique license information related to a specific license or group of licenses associated with the software application.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the wireless license device or the software application includes a license management feature to ensure that use of the software application is licensed and to prevent use of the software application if use of the software application is not properly licensed.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the license management feature includes unique license information stored on the wireless license device has a key configured to unlock the licensing features to thereby allow a user to use the computing device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined area has a radius of up to about 150 feet.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined distance covers a lab.

13. In a computing environment, a method of controlling access to computing resources, comprising:

sending an interrogation signal to at least one selected area;

receiving license information in an authentication device from a wireless license device while the wireless license device is within the selected area; and

determining whether the license information licenses a software application to run on a computing device;

allowing the software application to run while the authentication device receives license information that licenses the operation of the software application on the computing device;

and disallowing operation of the software application if the authentication device does not receive license information that licenses the operation of the software application on the computing device.

14. The method of claim 13, receiving license information in an authentication device from a wireless license device while the wireless license device is within the selected area includes receiving license information from an radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving the license information includes receiving unique license information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the selected area has a radius of between up to about 150 feet from the authentication device.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the network device is a probe or a rover

18. A computer readable medium having instructions thereon, the instructions including:

a license management module configured to receive license information from a wireless license device while the wireless license device is located within a selected area, to access license information associated with a computing resource, compare the license information from the wireless license device to the license information associated with the computing resources to determine whether the license information is valid; and

a monitoring module configured to allow access to the computing resource if the license management module is receiving the license information from the wireless license device and the license information from the license device is valid.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the computing resources is a software application.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the computing resources include at least one of hardware or hardware function.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the license management module is part of the monitoring module.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the license management module is configured to receive license information from a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.