SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING CONTENT AND SERVICES ON A NETWORK SYSTEM

• US 20100332615A1
• Filed: 09/02/2010
• Published: 12/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nomadix, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nomadix, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Pagan, Florence C.I., SHORT, JOEL E., Goldstein, Josh J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,244,886 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/173 using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/163 Real estate management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/22 Arrangements for preventing the taking of data from a data transmission channel without authorisation means for verifying the identity or the authority of a user of a secure or secret communication system H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/308 Route determination based on user's profile, e.g. premium users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/25 with rate being modified by the source upon detecting a change of network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/25 of the same type
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2503 Translation of Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4547 for personal communications, i.e. using a personal identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 : for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 : Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 : Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 : Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 : Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 : Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 : using filters or firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/12 : Reselecting a serving backbone network switching or routing node
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 : Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements

Abstract

Systems and methods for managing and providing content and services on a network system. Aspects of the invention include location-based determination of network content and services that may be provided to client computers. Other aspects of the invention include authorization and authentication components that determine access rights of client computers. Additional aspects include systems and methods for redirecting client computers to different network content. The disclosed systems and methods may be used in numerous network system applications.

Claims

1. A method of providing location-based content to a client computer connected to a network, the method comprising:

receiving a request for network content from the client computer;

preparing a response comprising alternate network content based in part on a physical location of the client computer, the alternate network content being associated with the physical location and being different from the requested network content; and

transmitting the alternate network content to the client computer in response to the request for content;

wherein the physical location is determined based at least in part on an identifier received from an intermediary network device, the client computer being connected to the network via the intermediary network device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the alternate network content to the client computer in response to the request for content comprises:

transmitting a redirection response to the client computer in response to the request for content, the redirection response configured to instruct the client computer to retrieve a web page at a specific web address; and

transmitting the alternate network content to the client computer in response to receiving a request from the client computer including the specific web address.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the intermediary network device comprises a plurality of ports and a VLAN processor configured to associate packets received at the intermediary network device with a VLAN tag associated with the port from which the packet was received.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical location is a room in a hotel, a type of room in a hotel, a suite, a room in an office, a terminal in an airport, an airplane, a building, a multi-unit residence, a part of a multi-unit residence, a unit in a multi-unit residence, a wing of a building, or a retail outlet.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical location is determined based at least in part on a VLAN tag.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the client computer has no information identifying the physical location.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the client computer, an request to access an online service;

establishing a link to the online service; and

translating packets transmitted between the client computer and the online service in a manner that is transparent to the client computer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the alternate network content comprises a portal page to which the client computer is redirected.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the alternate content comprises a control console that is transmitted in conjunction with the requested content, the control console comprising an interactive user interface configured to receive an interaction from the client computer and responsively send to the gateway device an instruction to change a network settings parameter.

10. A system, configured to provide location-based content to client computers in communication with the system, the system comprising:

a database, configured to store location-related information associated with a plurality of physical locations;

a network port configured to receive a request for online content from a client computer; and

a processor, configured to respond to the request for online content based in part on a physical location of the client computer, construct location-related content based on the location-related information associated with the physical location, and send the location-specific content to the client computer;

wherein the location-related content differs from the requested online content; and

wherein the physical location is determined based at least in part on an identifier received from an intermediary network device, the client computer being connected to the system via the intermediary network device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to send the client a redirection message in response to the request for online content, the redirection message configured to instruct the client computer initiate a second request for online content, and wherein the processor is further configured to send the location-specific content to the client computer in response to the second request for online content.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the physical location is a room in a hotel, a type of room in a hotel, a suite, a room in an office, a terminal in an airport, an airplane, a building, a multi-unit residence, a part of a multi-unit residence, a unit in a multi-unit residence, a wing of a building, or a retail outlet.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the physical location is determined based at least in part by a VLAN tag.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the client computer has no information identifying the physical location.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the intermediary network device comprises a plurality of ports and a VLAN processor configured to associate packets received at the intermediary network device with a VLAN tag associated with the port from which the packet was received.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive, from the client computer, a request to access an online service;

establish a link to the online service; and

translate packets transmitted between the client computer and the online service in a manner that is transparent to the client computer.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the location-related content comprises a portal page to which the client computer is redirected.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the location-related content comprises a control console that is transmitted in conjunction with the requested content, the control console comprising an interactive user interface configured to receive an interaction from the client computer and responsively send to the gateway device an instruction to change a network settings parameter.

19. A computer-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed on a network management system, perform a method of managing network access of a client computer connected to the network management system, the method comprising:

receiving one or more data packets from a client computer, the one or more data packets comprising a request for network content from an external server;

determining authorization rights associated with the client computer, the authorization rights indicating whether the client computer is entitled to access the requested network content, the authorization rights being based on a user profile selected from a user profile database communicatively connected to the network management system;

producing, if the determined authorization rights indicate that the client computer is not entitled to access the requested network content, a redirection response configured to cause the client computer to initiate a request for network content at a network location different from the request for network content from the external server, the redirection response configured to indicate to the computer that the redirection response originated from the external server; and

transmitting the redirection response to the client computer in response to the request for network content.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the user profile is selected from the user profile database based on a portion of header data included in the data packets, the portion of the header data being indicative of a physical location of the client computer.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the redirection response is configured to cause the client computer to initiate a request for network content at a network location determined by the network management system based on administrator input to the network management system.