Server and method for providing specific network services
First Claim
1. A method for automatically providing enhanced and secure access to a group of users initiated by a non-technically trained user on a computer network without intervention of information systems personnel, the method comprising the steps of:
- 1) receiving a request from a non-technically trained user of a visitor based network (VBN) to establish a group of users in the VBN, the request including a group identifier which includes a group name and password provided by the user and identifies the group;
2) configuring, in response to the request, a network infrastructure of the VBN to support the group without intervention of information systems personnel;
3) allowing other non-technically trained users of the VBN to join the group by using the group name and password;
4) further configuring the network infrastructure of the VBN to support the joining users without intervention of information systems personnel; and
5) dissolving the group based on predetermined rules including a predetermined rule to dissolve the group at expiry of a predetermined period,wherein the step of further configuring the network infrastructure includes the step of configuring a switch port that a joining user is connected to with a VLAN associated with the group.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A server and method is provided to provide a specific service to network users. The server and method automatically provide user-to-server security using VLANs. The server manages VLAN based on the request from a user for creating/deleting/joining/leaving VLANs. The server allows user to control groupings and overcomes the VLAN limit with the filtering policies on the switching infrastructure. In the second aspect of invention, the server and method provide a specific address based on requests from users. The server dynamically handles the management and facilitation of the requests. The server offers users reassignment of IP addresses from a first set of characteristics to a second set of characteristics with minimal user intervention. This allows users the ability to run a broader range of protocols. In the third aspect of invention, the server and method is provided to provide a routable IP address to a remote computer. The server allows pools of routable addresses to be maintained on one or more remote servers. The server can solve the shortage of the routable IP addresses.
141 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for automatically providing enhanced and secure access to a group of users initiated by a non-technically trained user on a computer network without intervention of information systems personnel, the method comprising the steps of:
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1) receiving a request from a non-technically trained user of a visitor based network (VBN) to establish a group of users in the VBN, the request including a group identifier which includes a group name and password provided by the user and identifies the group; 2) configuring, in response to the request, a network infrastructure of the VBN to support the group without intervention of information systems personnel; 3) allowing other non-technically trained users of the VBN to join the group by using the group name and password; 4) further configuring the network infrastructure of the VBN to support the joining users without intervention of information systems personnel; and 5) dissolving the group based on predetermined rules including a predetermined rule to dissolve the group at expiry of a predetermined period, wherein the step of further configuring the network infrastructure includes the step of configuring a switch port that a joining user is connected to with a VLAN associated with the group. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 19)
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9. A computer readable medium containing computer instructions for executing in a computer of a method for automatically providing enhanced and secure access to a group of users initiated by a non-technically trained user on a computer network without intervention of information systems personnel, the method comprising the steps of:
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1) receiving a request from a non-technically trained user of a visitor based network (VBN) to establish a group of users in the VBN, the request including a group identifier which includes a group name and password provided by the user and identifies the group; 2) configuring a network infrastructure of the VBN to support the group without Intervention of information systems personnel; 3) allowing other non-technically trained users of the VBN to join the group by using the group name and password; 4) further configuring the network infrastructure of the VBN to support the joining users without intervention of information systems personnel; and 5) dissolving the group based on predetermined rules including a predetermined rule to dissolve the group at expiry of a predetermined period, wherein the step of further configuring the network infrastructure includes the step of configuring a switch port that a joining user is connected to with a VLAN associated with the group.
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10. A server to provide enhanced and secure access to a group of users initiated by a non-technically trained user on a computer network without intervention of information systems personnel, the server comprising:
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1) a registration module to receive from a non-technically trained user of a visitor based network (VBN) a request to create a group of users in the VBN, the request including a group identifier which includes a group name and password provided by the user and identifies a group of users, and to receive from other non-technically trained users of the VBN a request to join the group using the group name and password; 2) a registration driver to register the user and the other users to access the group of users, assign the group of users and maintain registration information and state information of a network infrastructure of the VBN associated with the group of users according to the group identifier in response to the requests from the user without intervention of information systems personnel, and to dissolve the group based on predetermined rules including a predetermined rule to dissolve the group at expiry of a predetermined period; 3) a module to assign VLAN tags to the group based on registration status; and 4) a packet driver module to insert/remove VLAN tags from packets based on the registration status, 5) a switch commander for configuring a network infrastructure of the VBN to support the group without intervention of information systems personnel in response to the request for creating the group of users, and configuring a switch port that a joining user is connected to with a VLAN associated with the group. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20)
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Specification