System and method for distributing information in a network environment

• US 7,894,359 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2007
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• 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: Albert, Mark, Schomburg, Keith R., Menditto, Louis F., Bakita, Thomas R., Pittenger, Frank W., Frye, Dwight R. Jr., Dixon, Walter G., White, John G., Mackie, Robert A., O'Rourke, Chris
• Primary Examiner(s): MARCELO, MELVIN C
• Application Number:
  US11/869,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20080034409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252
• US Class Current: 370/252
• 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 comprising:

intercepting, by an identity broker, an authorization, authentication, and accounting (AAA) flow associated with a user;

identifying an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user from the AAA flow;

forwarding the AAA flow to an AAA server;

correlating profile information corresponding to the user to the IP address; and

providing the profile information to a network element to allow the network element to process communication traffic according to the profile information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

forwarding a plurality of AAA messages from the AAA server.

3. The method of claim 1,

the profile information comprising an end user parameter selected from the group consisting of:

a physical location associated with the user;

a network access technology associated with the user;

a network service preference associated with the user; and

a quality of service associated with the user.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing one or more relationships reflecting that the profile information is to be communicated to the network element.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating the profile information to a backup network element in response to the network element being inoperative.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a point of management to control one or more network operations associated with the user.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving additional information from an alternate data source; and

providing the additional information to the network element.

8. The method of claim 1, the identity broker comprising a networking interface configured to receive one or more queries from network equipment.

9. The method of claim 1, the identity broker comprising a networking interface configured to receive one or more queries from network equipment and implemented as an extended markup language (XML) dialect transported over UDP.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing secure access to the profile information.

11. An apparatus comprising:

an identity broker operable to;

intercept an authorization, authentication, and accounting (AAA) flow associated with a user;

identify an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user from the AAA flow;

forward the AAA flow to an AAA server;

correlate profile information corresponding to the user to the IP address; and

provide the profile information to a network element to allow the network element to process communication traffic according to the profile information.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, the identity broker operable to:

forward a plurality of AAA messages from the AAA server.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, the profile information comprising an end user parameter selected from the group consisting of:

a physical location associated with the user;

a network access technology associated with the user;

a network service preference associated with the user; and

a quality of service associated with the user.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, the identity broker operable to:

store one or more relationships reflecting that the profile information is to be communicated to the network element.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, the identity broker operable to:

communicate the profile information to a backup network element in response to the network element being inoperative.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, the identity broker operable to:

provide a point of management to control one or more network operations associated with the user.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, the identity broker operable to:

receive additional information from an alternate data source; and

provide the additional information to the network element.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, the identity broker comprising a networking interface configured to receive one or more queries from network equipment.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, the identity broker comprising a networking interface configured to receive one or more queries from network equipment and implemented as an extended markup language (XML) dialect transported over UDP.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, the identity broker operable to:

provide secure access to the profile information.